Two people whom you would not normally expect to see on a stage together, Gary O'Sullivan and David Shipper, put on one of the most informative and entertaining presentations I've ever seen, at the 2009 ICCFA Wide World of Sales Conference.

On April 23 at 11:00 am, they are going to do it again at the 2009 ICCFA Convention at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Here is a little preview:

For those of you who missed out in January, this is your chance to see it, and some of you who were at the January conference might choose to watch it again because these are two smart guys who will have undoubtedly done some fine tuning the past few months.

Long story short: Unbeknownst to most of us, David and Gary spent the past three years working out a sales management system for David's properties. In the process, they discovered that all of the existing information and materials out there were in some cases in need of optimization and in all cases in need of integration. Thus, they decided to just write the whole thing from the ground up. And by whole thing I mean from ads to activity tracking, from first day training to detailed Encyclopedia Brittanica-level product awareness, from alpha to omega, from soup to nuts-on-Mars. As somebody who has worked on these sorts of things for the past twenty years, let me assure you their project was an absolutely insane endeavor to take on - but the result is ridiculously good. And I am not saying that as a business endorsement, but simply as someone who has labored in the same vineyard and can appreciate artistry.

This presentation called "What Works" is a tiny offshoot of that project whereby Gary and David share several important things they learned, some of which will likely be of value to every sales manager at the Convention.

Part 2 of 2. Click here for part 1. Can all those rules and regulations designed to protect buyers and allow them to cancel contracts your counselors spent hours to sell actually be good for business?
Yes they can, with properly drawn contracts and well-trained counselors.

Truth in Lending
If the buyer is permitted by the terms of the contract to pay the obligation in more than four installments, regardless of whether interest is charged or not, there are Federal Reserve rules that apply. The rules are based on the Federal Truth-In-Lending Act as amended and Regulation Z (12 CFR 226, et. seq.).

For purposes of this article, we have focused on the traditional method of financing, which the rule characterizes as "Closed End Credit." This kind of credit provides for an amortization of the purchase price over a fixed period of time at a specified interest rate, such as: five years, with monthly installments, at 8 percent interest. The Truth-In-Lending Act and Regulation Z require the seller to disclose the following information to the buyer:

the amount financed.
the right to receive an itemization of the amount financed or a reference in the contract to where the amount financed is itemized.
the amount of the finance charge.
the finance charge expressed as an annual percentage rate.
the total of payments.
the number and due dates, along with the amount of those payments necessary to pay the full obligation.
the total sales price.
descriptive explanation of the annual percentage rate, the finance charge, amount financed, the total of payments, and the total sales price.
the amount and how delinquency charges are calculated and charged.
the creditor's polices on finance charge rebates or prepayment penalties.
whether or not a security interest is retained by the creditor until the obligation is paid in full.
a statement that the consumer  should refer to the contract documents for any additional information about nonpayment, default, right to accelerate, prepayment or abatement penalty provisions, and so forth.

Regulation Z requires that these disclosures be "clear and conspicuous" and that they be grouped together and segregated in the contract from the rest of its provisions.

There is no question that installment sale cemetery and funeral prearranged contracts are covered by the Truth-In-Lending Act and Regulation Z. There is a provision for state exemption—where the state law may be the same as or more restrictive than the federal law, but I am not aware of any state exemption application or a circumstance where a state exemption was granted by the Federal Reserve. The federal law preempts state law.

The Federal Reserve has provided a form for sellers to use in disclosing the required information. The form is referred to as the "Federal Box," and in theory, using it should ensure sellers that they are in compliance. The Federal Box looks like H-l: Credit Sale Model Form (see below).

 
Going back to my previous point on the importance of consistency in language, you should make sure that your consumer contracts are consistent with the language used in the Federal Box. In your contracts, where the purchase price is calculated, the references should be to "total sale price," "cash down payment," and "unpaid balance (amount financed)" in order to be consistent with the terms used in the Federal Box.

Finally, the Federal Box must be outlined in bold so that it sticks out and the buyer's attention is drawn to it, and the interior boxes that disclose the "annual percentage rate" and the "finance charge" also must be highlighted or made bold in comparison to the three boxes next to them.

Consumer Remedies
A buyer can void or collect ascertainable damages as a result of consumer contracts which do not comply with FTC or Federal Reserve requirements. In either instance, the buyer may also collect attorney's fees and expenses. All the buyer has to do is show that the contract (or contracts—the law permits class action claims) is incomplete or inaccurate as to one or more material elements of the mandatory disclosures or that the contract does not use the terms defined and required to be used.

Since contracts that do not comply with federal requirements can be voidable, those contracts not only are not an asset to the company using them, they are contingent liabilities that may actually reduce the value of those companies. That is why sophisticated potential buyers of a cemetery or mortuary business examine the form, content and extent of use of consumer contracts as a significant element in their due diligence.

The Funeral Industry Practices Rule
There are other mandatory federal disclosures arising out of the FTC’s Funeral Industry Practices Rule. If a seller is contracting to deliver funeral and burial merchandise and services, the seller must comply with the funeral practices rule.

Those disclosures are numerous and comprehensive and could be the subject of another article. Interested readers are directed to the rule at 16 CFR 453, or more generally to the FTC Web site, www.ftc.gov, where there are lengthy explanations on complying with the rule. There is also an FTC sample form of contract that provides some insight into the FTC's perspective, a consumer guide for funerals and other information.

Buyer's Protection Is Seller's Protection
Over the three decades that I practiced law, I heard a steady din of complaints about these rules and others adopted by federal and state regulators to protect consumers from themselves. Yet, as I suggested earlier, these contract disclosure requirements provide your company the opportunity to strengthen its position in a contract dispute and can even help your counselors make a sale that otherwise would not be made.

Let us first consider the case of the sales counselor making a home presentation. Because the buyer has the right to cancel, the "I can't make a decision today; I need to think about it" objection evaporates. All the counselor needs to do is point out that if the prospect changes his or her mind, the contract can be canceled simply by delivering the attached cancellation notice to the seller.

If the price being offered is a program price only good that day, the potential buyer has even more incentive to buy today, not tomorrow. The buyer has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Experience suggests that most prospects know and understand why they purchased funeral or cemetery arrangements preneed—the risk of cancellation is not great, particularly if the counselor has done a good job of explaining the advantages of prearrangement, which are sizeable. Therefore, you should encourage counselors to point out and explain the right of cancellation and other buyers' protection clauses in the contract, and use them as additional reasons to justify closure then and there.

Once the cooling-off period has expired, there can be no question as to whether the contract is binding on the customer. After all, the notice of right to cancel is required to be in "immediate proximity to the space reserved in the contract for the signature of the buyer." Since the right of cancellation was right there near the signature space, surely the customer read it. Even if the customer did sign an agreement without reading it, by doing so he or she assumed the risk of loss.

Parenthetically, most states require another disclosure that arises from the Uniform Commercial Credit Code that requires, among other things, a statement (also in close proximity to the space where the buyer's signature goes) that the buyer not sign the agreement before reading it or if it contains any blank spaces, and that the buyer is entitled to a copy of the agreement.

What about a customer who dishonorably asserts that he or she did not receive the notice of cancellation form? To prevent that from happening, in our funeral homes we make the notice, in duplicate, an actual printed portion of the contract. Further, we require the customer, as part of the "buyer's acknowledgment," to concede in writing that he or she received the notice of cancellation attached. Finally, we also have gone the extra mile by noting on the contract whether the sale was a "home" or "office" sale, so that the applicability of the cooling-off provision can be determined from the face of the contract.

Our policy is that our counselors and funeral directors must discuss these provisions with the prospect. In fact, Illinois state law requires that in prearrangements the customer acknowledge that the cemetery or funeral home representative explained the material terms of the contract before the contract was signed.

In summary, an educated customer is in a better position to appreciate and understand the contract if the counselor takes the time to explain why and what the terms mean. Once explained and disclosed, these buyer's protections make it virtually impossible to get out of the contract (and improbable, as well, as the customer will understand and appreciate the significance of the transaction).

These disclosures become, then, additional tools for the counselor to use to reaffirm the importance and fairness of the deal, to emphasize that the customer is protected and to give him or her confidence in the principle that there is more value there than just a couple of spaces or a casket. What the customer is really acquiring is a long-term relationship. When that is understood, there is truly great power in legitimacy.

What does your cemetery or funeral home have to fear? I submit that there is nothing to fear. If the counselor did his or her job right, the customer will not want to cancel. If the counselor didn't convince the customer, then it wasn't a deal anyway and all of the signed agreements in the world won't change that. In the end, contracts are only as strong as the people who stand behind them.

Reprinted with the permission of Wakarusa River Management Co., Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. Neither the author nor the publisher is providing legal advice through publication of this article. If such advice is needed, the services of a qualified attorney should be sought.

Can all those rules and regulations designed to protect buyers and allow them
to cancel contracts your counselors spent hours to sell actually be good for business?
Yes they can, with properly drawn contracts and well-trained counselors.

The genesis of this article is the three-part series reprinted by International Cemetery & Funeral Management magazine in the winter and spring of 2002, "The Prego Defense," which discussed seller's protection in funeral and cemetery contracts. That series sought to discuss how we as sellers of funeral and cemetery merchandise and services could clarify the allocations of risk in our consumer contracts to protect ourselves from less than scrupulous consumers.

The goal in this article is to discuss federal regulatory requirements as they apply to consumer contracts, to emphasize again the importance of consistency among our contracts and related instruments or documents and to discuss how regulatory requirements can protect us in dealings with customers as well as with regulators.

Customers who want to avoid living up to their contractual obligations may try to find some area in which the cemetery or funeral home is not complying with all of the technical requirements of federal and state laws. A properly written contract that ensures compliance can give us great power from a negotiating standpoint.

The Power of the Written Word
We are all not Indians and our word is not always good. Chief Joseph once observed: "Good words do not last long unless they amount to something."

In the context of preneed consumer contracts, there is usually a material lapse of time from the date the agreement is entered into and the date the merchandise and services are actually delivered or realized. So while prearrangement is good both for the seller who has gotten the business and for the purchaser who has locked in prices and gotten peace of mind, if it is not completely clear what the prearrangement covers—and  does not cover—misunderstandings may develop at the time of delivery.

As experienced cemeterians and funeral directors, we should find this risk of misunderstanding not merely foreseeable but obvious. All the more reason then to make such contracts clear and consistent. A good contract should:
clearly state what is being purchased;
clearly state what is not being purchased;
set forth appropriate times and terms for performance;
permit substitution of merchandise and services;
permit delay in performance for circumstances beyond the cemetery or funeral home's control;
provide for clear default consequences, including how to get out of the deal if the consumer does not perform;
limit or permit assignment dependent upon whose rights are to be protected;
permit the cemetery or funeral home the right to correct errors; and
make the contract binding upon the consumer's successors in interest.

Consistency and Simplicity
Consumer contracts should be written with a clear appreciation that they will be acted on by individuals who are not lawyers and, more often than not, are not the ones who entered into the contract in the first place but rather their survivors.

Choose simple words rather than complex ones. Make sentences short rather than compound or complex. Use short, simple paragraphs and order them in a logical sequence.

Be consistent. For example, don't refer to the consumer as the "buyer" in one place and as the "purchaser" in other places. Don't call an outside container a "vault" in some places and a "box" in others. The importance of consistency extends beyond contracts. The same definitions, language, terms and conditions and so forth should be used in related instruments such as cemetery deeds (or burial right certificates), rules and regulations, merchandise certificates, delivery acknowledgments, interment authorizations and other schedules or instruments used in conjunction with the transition or affecting the nature of the transaction.

Crafty lawyers can use inconsistent or conflicting language against us. It is often presumed that ambiguity and inconsistency should be construed against whomever drafted the contract, so if there is a debate, the burden will be on the cemetery or funeral home to clarify what the deal was.

Therefore, if there is anything to be learned from this article, it is that whoever drafts your company's contracts should resist the lawyer's natural tendency to make consumer contracts as complex and full of "legaleze'' as possible. Complex language often fosters debate—though it's true that lawyers often disagree over even the simplest language!

To illustrate what I mean, I offer this example, attributed to Robert H. Mundheim, general counsel to the U.S. Treasury Department during the Carter Administration, of the way lawyers see and do things. Here is what Mundheim had to say: "When an ordinary person wants to give an orange to another, he merely says, 'I give you this orange.' But when the lawyer does it, he says: 'Know all men by these presents: l hereby give, grant, bargain, sell, release, convey, transfer and quit claim of all my right, title, interest, benefits and use whatever in, of and concerning this chattel, otherwise known as an orange, or citrus or erantium, together with all the appurtenances thereto of skin, pulp, pith, rind, seeds and juice, to have and to hold the said orange together with its skin, pulp, pith, rind, seeds and juice for his own use and behoof to himself, and his heirs in fee simple forever, free from all liens, encumbrances, easements, limitations, restraints or conditions whatsoever, any and all prior deeds, transfers or documents whatsoever, now or anywhere made to the contrary notwithstanding, with full power to bite, cut, suck or otherwise eat the said orange or to give away the same, with or without its skin, pulp, pith, rind, seeds or juice.'"

What the ordinary person said in five words, Mundheim turned into 147 words. The effect of either statement is the same. The relative efficiency of drafting the two statements is easy to see. Certainly the example is an absurd one, but you get the point. Show this to your lawyer—maybe he or she will get the point, too.

Buyer's Protection
Government, in its wisdom, has elected to adopt massive and complex statutory and regulatory schemes to protect buyers from unscrupulous sellers (or maybe to protect buyers from themselves). In addition to federal statutes and regulations, most states require consumer contracts to include mandatory disclosures that essentially give buyers numerous technical reasons why they should not have to honor their contracts.

Unfortunately, the federal and state disclosure requirements often conflict with each other, which can make writing an enforceable contract impractical, so lawyers truly have their work cut out for them. In addition, these mandatory disclosures come from the government, the expert at making the simple complex. Finally, these disclosures are written in legaleze, in the grandest of the Mundheim model, so drafting something simple and short is virtually impossible. Of course, while these disclosures must be in consumer contracts, most consumers ignore them anyway because they don't know what that "stuff" means.

I have restricted the technical requirements in this article to federal disclosures. Make no mistake; however, your state has its own requirements. Hire competent counsel and make sure your contracts include them all.

Buyer's Right to Cancel:
The Three-Day Cooling-Off Period
If the sale is made in the home, commonly known as a "door-to-door" sale, the Federal Trade Commission requires that the buyer have the unilateral right to cancel the contract. The FTC rule consists of two basic elements.

First, the contract must contain a written disclosure of the buyer's right to cancel in substantially the following form:

"YOU, THE BUYER, MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT OF THE THIRD BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE DATE OF THIS TRANSACTION. SEE THE ATTACHED NOTICE OF CANCELLATION FORM FOR AN EXPLANATION OF THIS RIGHT."

Since the disclosure only applies to home ("door to door") sales, I have chosen to expand the notice to indicate that it does not apply to "office sales." That way we can use the same contract form for office and home sales.

Second, the buyer must be provided a Notice of Cancellation in substantially the form shown below.

This mandatory notice is required when there is a sale, lease or rental with a purchase price of $25 or more, whether in single or multiple contracts, in which the seller's representative personally solicits the sale at the buyer's residence. For purposes of the rule, the buyer's residence may include a temporary residence such as a hotel or motel room, a convention center, fairgrounds, restaurant, the buyer's business or a dormitory lounge—i.e., any place other than the seller's place of business.

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, but in almost all cases, sales counselor or funeral director presentations in the home will be covered. In short, all contracts where sales are made should include the disclosure and the cancellation form so that you can be sure, as in "The Prego Defense," it is "in there."

Finally, the rule requires that the disclosure must be placed in "immediate proximity to the space reserved in the contract for the signature of the buyer" (16 CFR 429.1 [a]). As with most federal laws, whether or not you are in compliance with this rather ambiguous placement requirement is a matter of opinion. Lawyers like that because everyone has an opinion. (For a more in-depth review of the rule, the reader and counsel are referred to 16 CFR 429.0, et. seq.)

Preservation of Consumer's Claims and Defenses
The FTC also has adopted a disclosure and notice rule that states that regardless of to whom the sales contract may be assigned by the seller, the consumer retains the right to assert claims and defenses against the assignee. This preservation of the consumer's claims and defenses may be found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 16 CFR 433. It requires the following notice in consumers contracts:

Notice to consumer: Any holder of this consumer credit contract is subject to all
claims and defenses which the debtor could assert against the seller of goods and services obtained pursuant hereto or with the proceeds hereof. Recovery hereunder by the debtor shall not exceed amounts paid by the debtor hereunder.

(Note the use of "hereto," “hereof” and "hereunder," all in two sentences of great Mundheim legaleze.)

The purpose of this disclosure is to prevent the seller from factoring or assigning the contract to a financial institution where the institution could assert that it had no notice of any claims or defenses that may make the contract unenforceable. While in theory the notice would be effective only if the contract was assigned, the reality is that if it is possible that the contract could be assigned (and why wouldn't the seller want that flexibility?), then the disclosure is mandatory.

Reprinted with the permission of Wakarusa River Management Co., Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. Neither the author nor the publisher is providing legal advice through publication of this article. If such advice is needed, the services of a qualified attorney should be sought.

Part 2, in the October issue of ICFM, will cover truth in lending, consumer remedies, the funeral industry practices rule, buyer's protection as seller's protection and a model form for credit sales.

Do you think of private family mausoleums primarily as architectural adornments gracing historical cemeteries or cemeteries dedicated to the rich and famous? Are they something your counselors don't even mention unless a family asks? You may be shortchanging your families—and your cemetery.

Perceiving them to be only for a highly exclusive audience, many cemeteries have avoided marketing private estates like they market community mausoleums or memorials. When people tell me that private estates are too risky to market because there is not enough of a critical mass to support their private estates marketing efforts, I ask them one question: "How can you assume that the private estates market doesn't justify an active marketing program when most families have never been informed or educated about private estates?"

I respond with the same question when people point out that the biggest trend in memorialization today is cremation and toward less formal and expensive forms of memorialization. That may be true, but cremation is one segment of the market. A substantial niche market for private estates remains largely untapped.

A large number of people in the private estates market, which generally encompasses households with incomes of $75,000 or more, are also seeking to memorialize their legacies and families through private estates, but most of them have not been aggressively marketed to.

Most Americans don't know what "private estate" means. They probably do know what a family or private mausoleum is, but they don't know that there are hundreds of different private estate designs available to suit the preferences of middle- to higher income families and high net worth families.

Understandably, many cemeteries are averse to spending the time and resources required to market private estates. After all, the most cost-effective private estate is significantly higher in price than an average bronze or granite memorial. Two-crypt pre-assembled mausoleums start from $20,000. A larger personalized private estate with classically designed columns, pediments, porticos and landscaped walkways with benches and statuary can cost more than $250,000.

Unlike community mausoleums, in which crypt and niche spaces often have been sold on a preneed basis by the time the mausoleums are completed, or bronze or monumental memorials that can be sold to families in one or two sittings, private estates require a much longer lead time to be appreciated and sold to families. Even so, this market is recording robust growth compared to other memorialization sectors.

Cemeteries that have strategically incorporated private estates into their overall marketing efforts have prospered. Each of the following key success factors are employed by the following cemeteries, which stand out as examples of cemeteries successfully marketing private estates.

Keys to Marketing Private Estates
Know your turf. When the Lohman family acquired Daytona Memorial Park & Funeral Home in Daytona, Florida, Lowell Lohman did not expect that one of the key features of the park would be a special private estates garden. Many people, in fact, doubted the memorial park would be anything like it is today. The state forced out the previous owners of the property, which was plagued by vandalism, dilapidated buildings, weed-infested lawns and garbage issues.
 
Daytona Memorial Park now is a model cemetery with manicured lawns, freshly paved roads and beautiful fountains. But what makes the memorial park stand out is that it is the only one in the county with a private estates garden.

Volusia County has a population of half a million people, half of whom are over 45 years old, including many retirees. Though the county has a 48 percent cremation rate, Lohman knew that there would be a natural demand for private estates because many people interested in private estates memorialization "had nowhere to go to except to the largest cemeteries that did not distinguish private estates in gardens."

Publicize your commitment. Lohman had a spot in mind for a beautiful private estate garden. A heavily wooded 5-acre area was cleared, a lake basin carved and filled with water, and 14 lots separated by hedges and all facing the lake were created. The Lohmans poured an estimated $150,000 into developing Legacy Lake, which took months of planning and half a year of construction to complete.

There was no doubt that the development of the whole property enhanced the community, and the Lohmans took care to publicize their efforts. They relayed details to the media and to members of the community. This resulted in word-of-mouth publicity and news coverage about the property. The buzz encouraged more people to visit Daytona Memorial Park, including Legacy Lake.

Market distinction and exclusivity.  Legacy Lake was designed as an exclusive sanctuary for private reflection, promoting serenity and peace of mind. "We wanted to create something unique, a landscaped 'Garden of Eden' that would be appreciated by people seeking a specialized form of memorialization," said Lohman.

Private estate gardens and market-segmented memorialization sections are marketed in the same manner as real estate in upper-end neighborhoods. Mike Shipley, sales manager of Arlington Memorial Park in Atlanta, Georgia, says exclusive areas for private estates at Arlington were developed according to tour income categories: silver, gold, platinum and diamond. Just as high-end homes are positioned next to lakes, the diamond area features private estates on a lake or a large pond; platinum is located near water; and gold and silver are farther away from the water.

"A person seeking a higher-end private estate will not feel comfortable if the plot will be located in an indistinct area located next to memorials or markers," said Shipley. Since land and private estates are segmented and marketed in different categories, they are also sold separately.

Market to all levels. While segmenting your market and catering to different groups' needs are paramount in any marketing effort, all people visiting your cemetery should be exposed to private estates. "Don't think private estates are only for the obviously well-to-do," Shipley said, "because you don't know if they're rich or not and people don't know what their needs are. We never assume anything about a family or a person, especially in regard to their financial, religious or ethnic backgrounds. We treat everybody the same."

Shipley and his counselors are trained to introduce all aspects of memorialization, including private estates. They start at the top and talk to families about private estates, followed by community mausoleums and traditional and non-traditional burial and interment options. "We start with higher value and stop at the value that meets the individual's needs," Shipley said.

Rick Halkuff, regional sales manager for the Alderwoods Group and responsible for the Jewish market in southern Florida, practices the same top-down sales/marketing approach. "It's very important that the counselor isn't afraid to present something that may cost more than a $1 million to a family,” he said "We work to let people naturally gravitate to private estates or other options where their comfort level is the highest."

By taking the time to educate families in this manner, instead of trying to “sell” them, Shipley said, the cemetery has found that some families opt for a private estate after having memorialized a loved one with a traditional memorial or in a community mausoleum. "One family member did not like the community mausoleum that her husband was in and ended up purchasing a two-crypt private estate."

Make it clear cremation is embraced. Although most private estates are identified with traditional above-ground entombment, the growing preference for cremation has necessitated marketing cremation private estates. Instead of containing crypts, cremation estates are columbariums containing cremation niches.

Except for exposed units without vestibules, columbarium private estates appear to be no different than private estates. They may have walk-in vestibules or can be larger, classically designed structures.

Another favored approach is to flank the front walkways of non-cremation private estates with benches with cremation cores so that members opting for cremation may be interred in the benches next to family members entombed in private estates.

Promote private estates as the family's final gathering place. Private estates are also marketed as the final gathering place of families. Few Americans live in communities where they are born. Most families are dispersed across the country. Rarely are they buried in a family plot and memorialized in the same fashion or in the same cemetery.

A family estate can double as a family plot, bringing family members who have lived apart for most of their adult lives finally together; Maximizing use of space, private estates can be built with as many as 24 crypts and 100 niches, an environmentally attractive factor.

Give Tours. One of the most effective marketing tools for private estates is the cemetery tour. Over 700 burials occur at Shipley's Arlington Memorial Park. Each burial is an opportunity for counselors to show family members around the whole property.

''Tours have to be conducted continuously," Shipley said. "Counselors have to be on their toes to ensure that all families are taken care of, and no person must be left unattended or taken for granted."

Shipley recalled that he was able to sell a family an eight-burial gated estate after one tour. "My role really was that of a guide pointing out various features of private estates, including designs, colors and needs for the family."

Showcase private estates. Featuring a sample private estate is another way to call attention to them when families are touring your cemetery. The Lohmans have a vestibule mausoleum made of sunset red granite with sandblasted columns and two benches flanking its front walkway. Instead of a generic family name, the Lohmans had the words, "Your Name" carved on the pediment to reinforce the marketing message for visiting families passing by.

Train and prepare counselors. The counselor must be able to identify the most important needs of a family in relation to private estates. This requires training and preparation.

Bruce McGowen, sales manager for Catholic Cemeteries of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, says his counselors are trained to ask families questions and to listen to the answers. What size are their families? Where are their families? What are their professions? And so on.

"Counselors must be trained to develop profiles of families so they can provide more value-added information about private estates," McGowen said.

Shipley agrees. ''Preparation to provide families with information on a preneed or at need basis, or during tours, or when responding to telephone queries, is absolutely critical," he said. ''Preparation and training are the most important factors underscoring performance." Shipley himself trains his counselors for tours and giving private estates presentations to families.

Tap advocates for word-of-mouth awareness. A day after the Lohmans purchased Daytona Memorial Park, a well known realtor in the community, Edwin W. Peck, telephoned Lohman to request a private estates prearrangement. He not only sought a coveted spot for himself and his family, he wanted it to be in a private estates garden memorializing outstanding members of the community.

Peck's vision has snowballed. He has led the drive to invite others to be memorialized in Daytona Memorial Park's Legacy Lake. Respected members of the community receive letters penned by Peck on Lohman Family Properties letterhead summarizing key reasons why they should be memorialized in Legacy Lake. Moreover, word-of mouth awareness has also spread, thanks to Peck praising private estates memorialization in business meetings, luncheons and other social gatherings. Peck even leads tours through Legacy Lake for targeted community members.

Include private estates in all marketing vehicles. Cemeteries that successfully market private estates include private estates in all of their marketing tactics and programs. Cemeteries marketing private estates should:

• Feature private estates information in brochures. Mail distributions should be targeted with key brand messages (such as promoting private estates as the most distinct means to memorialize family members' achievements and legacies) or product messages ("We're introducing our new line of private estates designed to fit all your special needs").
• Package information kits about private estates for display in consultation rooms and news and trade media distribution.
• Position posters in consultation and seminar rooms.
• Develop videos that can be shown to families in consultation rooms.
• File clippings of news articles about your cemetery and private estates and place them in consultation and reception rooms.
• Place a design book featuring professionally shot photographs of private estates in consultation room".
• Feature private estates information and designs on your Web site.
• Organize seminars about private estates and preneed at least four times a year.

Explore and exhaust all avenues to see what works best for your cemetery. Marketing avenues that work best for you should be explored and pursued. Halkuff of the Alderwoods Group networks with public attorneys to seek out families that may be interested in private estates. He also acquires lists of people who have purchased high income automobiles.

If you don't already have a web site, develop one. The Web is a major information source for people researching products and services. No longer can it be ignored as a marketing tool in the memorialization industry.

Cemeteries incorporating the Web for their private estates marketing strategy often feature private estates information on the top of their sites' products page. You should, too. A good example is how The Catholic Cemeteries Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis features such information on its site, www.catholic-cemeteries.org/products.htm.

It is important to regularly update your Web site. With a content management tool, you can update your site anytime to feature fresh information and promotions, including seminars or special tours you may want to promote on the home page or in the "what's new" section.

Additional information that will benefit families should also be featured. This can include a section explaining various stages of the grieving process and offering an emergency planning guide outlining various steps that need to be taken following the death of a loved one.

Your site could include highlights about new memorial sections being added to your cemetery or a cause-related drive you are organizing for the community, such as a campaign to support cancer research or a veterans memorial.

The objective is to turn your Web site into an information tool that people can use for their memorialization needs. The key goal in marketing private estates is to further educate people so that families will explore what you are providing.

Seminars provide families valuable information about the benefits of preplanning and prefunding in a non-threatening, non-intrusive manner. In the process, they also deliver pre-qualified leads while building your firm's brand.

From advertising and publicity to direct mail and e-marketing, funeral and cemetery firms have numerous strategic options for increasing preneed—as well as future at-need—leads. There is one strategy that stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of its total value to your organization, yet it is often overlooked by even the most marketing-savvy firms.

Seminars—when implemented correctly—will help your firm build brand awareness, build personal relationships in the community, educate customers and prospects and deliver valuable, pre-qualified leads. In short, seminars can help your firm meet both short- and long-term marketing and sales objectives.

However, establishing a successful seminar program requires that you carefully plan every aspect, from setting the foundation through program implementation and post-implementation. Doing so will ensure that program objectives are met-and often exceeded.

Seminars offer a full spectrum of benefits
The main objective for most funeral and cemetery firms when hosting a seminar is to gain quality leads in the short-term and increase sales over the long-term. This is a very reasonable and achievable goal.

For example, a funeral home conducting two seminars per month, each attracting an average of 15 participants, and achieving a modest 20 percent conversion rate, creates the potential to attract more than 70 new policies per year. At an average policy value of $5,000, such a seminar program would generate more than $350,000 in new policies per year.

Note that while a 20 percent conversion rate might seem exceptionally high compared to the rate produced by other preneed lead-generation strategies such as direct mail and advertising, seminar audiences are pre-qualified, because they have taken the initiative to attend the program.

But beyond leads and sales, an effective seminar program will deliver benefits that support your firm's long-term at-need program.

"I have been hosting seminars for five years and have learned firsthand that seminars not only generate qualified leads, but also help generate awareness for funeral firms," said Cindy Miller, an independent preneed consultant who uses Assurant Preneed's Wiser Way/Full Circle seminar program. "It allows firms to demonstrate their interest in the communities' welfare, and provides educational resources for families."

When hosting a seminar, you provide valuable information to your community at no charge and with no strings attached. This enables you to build relationships in the community while also building your firm's brand.

Even though a majority of attendees won't immediately buy a preneed policy, seminars give you the opportunity to meet prospective families you otherwise might not have met. This opens the door for future communication, and possible preneed and at-need referrals and at-need calls. It also helps you build your prospect database.

Another benefit of hosting a seminar is that it gives you the opportunity to obtain the attendees' permission to call families. Ask attendees to fill out and sign a contact card that complies with FTC Do Not Call regulations and gives your company the OK to call them at a later date.

Finally, seminars help set your firm apart from your competition. Even if competitive firms are hosting seminars of their own, you can enhance your program to differentiate yourself and establish a unique brand.

A seven-step action plan
A seminar program is a lead-generation technique that should be approached strategically. In order to reap the full potential benefits of a seminar program, consider the following proven steps when developing your action plan.
 
1. Develop a six-month to one-year seminar plan. It is imperative to approach the program with a strategy that will become part of your firm's preneed marketing plan. Your plan should outline the target audience, goals, strategies and tactics, and should include a detailed timeline and budget.

Based on your firm's marketing plan, determine who your target audience is for the seminars. This could include men and women 55 and older, local media, churches, civic groups, senior centers, etc. Consider adding people such as lawyers and accountants who have direct contact with the families you are trying to reach.

When developing goals, make sure they are measurable. For example, do not just plan to "increase sales." Your goal might be to increase preneed leads by a specific percentage and policy sales by a specific dollar amount. This will help you focus strategies and measure success at various times during the implementation process.

2. Select a seminar location. "The most effective location to host a seminar depends on your target audience and community," said Miller. "For example, if a funeral home's director is actively involved in the community, families will not hesitate to attend a seminar at a funeral home. This is a great way to show the community the facilities. On the other hand, if the funeral director is not well known in the community, then an active senior center might generate more leads and better attendance."
You can also consider a community college, coffee shop, recreation center or library. On the other hand, certain locations, such as nursing homes and assisted living centers, are not highly recommended. Although these seniors are often independent, a family member or close friend typically is handling their financial decisions.

It is also beneficial to research existing speaking opportunities in your community. For example, many communities host an annual senior fair. Contact the organizations and inquire about hosting a seminar as part of their program. Make sure to communicate the educational value of your seminar and explain that you are not trying to sell anything.

3. Select the seminar topic. Consider allowing your location to influence your seminar topic. For example, if you are hosting the seminar at an active senior center and its members are primarily men, consider a seminar on veteran's benefits. If you are inviting the general public to attend, consider a caregiver's resource seminar. Additional topic ideas include preplanning or asset protection.

Be creative when selecting topics. For example, host a seminar that focuses on building legacy through photos and memorabilia. This is a very timely topic, especially with the increasing popularity of video tributes.

4. Determine the format. The seminar format can be educational or workshop oriented. The educational format is designed to provide an overview of preplanning and prefunding to the audience and requires little or no active audience participation. The workshop format introduces the audience to preplanning and preneed by having attendees begin the preplanning process during the course of the seminar.

You can design your seminar as a workshop format by developing a worksheet that provides participants with the most common funeral and cremation products/services (casket, vault, burial costs, cemetery property, cremation, etc.) they are likely to purchase and the costs associated with each product. Make sure to offer low, medium and high-end options for each product. For example, offer a steel, wood and bronze casket pricing.

You can incorporate the worksheet into the seminar by giving the attendees time to begin selecting the funeral goods and services they would like and then calculate the costs. This process serves two purposes. It educates attendees about the price of funerals and provides a cost estimate for their desired funeral service.

"Prior to using Assurant's seminar program, I was strictly presenting the information on preplanning and preneed to the audience," said Miller.

"The seminar I am currently using is designed as a workshop, and actually puts the participants to work planning their funeral and generating costs associated with the type of funeral they would like to have. Not only does this help generate discussions among the participants, but the workshop format makes me more comfortable because 100 percent of the attention is not focused on me."

5. Develop marketing materials. Marketing materials are essential for your seminar program. Remember, every brochure or handout you develop communicates something about your firm.

If your presentation is stellar, people will talk about it and it will help generate referrals. On the other hand, a poor quality presentation will reflect poorly on you.

6. Provide refreshments. Evaluate your target audiences and plan refreshments accordingly, from cookies and coffee for morning events to wine and cheese for early evening seminars.

Be creative by choosing fun finger foods and selecting refreshments that coordinate with the seminar topic, such as American flag cookies for a veteran's benefit seminar.

"Attendees mayor may not expect refreshments at a seminar," said Miller. "Those who do not are pleasantly surprised, and those who do are not disappointed."

7. Develop methods for maintaining the audience's interest. Place all the completed contact cards in a bowl or box and hold a prize drawing at the seminar's conclusion. This technique not only influences people to fill out the cards, it also encourages everyone to stay until the end of the seminar.

Gift certificates to local grocery stores, gas stations, or local retailers (Target, Blockbuster, Kohls, Home Depot, etc.) make good prizes.

Another way to maintain audience interest is to remain conversational throughout your presentation. Encourage participants to share personal stories and ask and answer questions.

Follow-up is imperative
A successful seminar requires a successful lead management program. After the seminar, place follow-up calls to each attendee who completed a lead card. This is the most important step, because the potential success of the seminar decreases with each day you do not call the attendees.

"I wait one day after the seminar and then I make all of my follow-up calls," said Miller. ''Timely and persistent follow-up is the key to converting leads to sales."

Evaluate and modify your seminar program
Take time to assess each seminar and your results. If attendance was low, re-evaluate your marketing strategies and tactics and possibly the location. If you distributed a survey, evaluate the responses. This allows your firm to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the seminar and revise it accordingly.

Every step of hosting a seminar is important and can help increase brand identity, leads and sales for your firm. Once you have developed a program that works for your market, the time it takes to implement a seminar will decrease, and it will become an ongoing lead-generation strategy in your firm's marketing plan.

Being a sales manager means developing your sales skills to a new level, as well as becoming a leader and developer of people.

Going some online research recently for an upcoming speech, I discovered this amazing statistic: When you run a search through Google, it scans over 4 billion pages of information on the Internet in about 0.2 seconds. If a human looked at the same number of pages and only spent one minute per page, it would take 5,707 years to accomplish the same task.

That is incredible. It is any wonder people's expectations are going up every day? Companies and consumers are raising the bar every day. Companies expect more from their staff because their customers are expecting more from them. And everyone wants everything quickly.

But how can a sales manager operate more quickly? Is there technology that can scan faces and tell the sales manager whether those people will succeed or fail in sales? How can a sales manager meet the challenge of keeping people motivated, focused, positive and productive?

Sales never get better—people do!
Many managers focus on trying to improve their sales. That is not possible. Sales are created. How does something that doesn't exist until it is created get better before it even exists?

Sound confusing? The premise is simple: Sales never get better—people do. When we improve our salespeople's attitudes, skills, habits and competencies, then, and only then, will their sales improve.

The obvious next question is, ''How do our people get better?" The answer: Our people never get better until we, their managers, do. It's managers' ability to lead, direct, coach, teach and motivate that allows their staffs to improve.

Organizations never grow faster than their leaders. Therefore, as a sales manager, you must continue to discover new concepts and skill sets which you can in turn transfer to your staff, helping them improve on an ongoing basis.

One way a manager can get better faster is by understanding certain basic principles, the fundamentals of how something works. Once you discover a principle, understand how it can serve you and internalize it into your own thinking, you then can act—perhaps faster than ever before.

It is only when we get better and have a clearer understanding of what we do and how we do it that we can make our people better. And it's only when our people get better in attitude and skills that our sales improve.

Principles don't change; only technique and application do
For thousands of years, people wanted to fly, but one attempt after another failed. Then on a cool December day in 1903, at 10:35 in the morning, the principle of manned night was discovered. With their historic 12-second flight of only 36.6 meters, the Wright brothers knew they had broken the code, discovered the principles.

Over time, those principles became better understood; the people designing aircraft internalized the concepts and continued to act on what had been discovered. Here is an amazing example of how internalizing a principal works: It took man 6,000 years to discover the principle of a controlled flight. It then took us only 68 years to learn to fly 238,857 miles to the moon.

Principles don't change, only technique and application do. To accomplish more in a shorter period of time requires us to discover, understand, internalize and act on the fundamental principles of sales management success.

What are the principles that can help a sales manager be more effective every day? Many readers will find that they are already familiar with these principles, or at least some of them, but most of us forget, and we can't internalize what we forget.

As a professional, you must dedicate yourself to discovering principles that will allow you to do your job better, help make your people better and, as a result, increase your sales.

There are three basic premises on which the career of a successful sales manager is founded:
• Having the ability to hire, develop and keep the right people.
• Acknowledging that being a sales manager can be one's life work—a true profession.
• Understanding that a sales manager is rewarded on the basis of performance.

People
The sales manager's role revolves around people—finding them, training them, developing them and creating an environment where they are willing to give their all and want to stay.

Successful sales managers are always looking for the principles that will allow them to attract, hire, train, develop and keep the right people in their sales organization. Following are three principles and the power they possess to help you get better at focusing on the people aspects of sales management success.

Principle: Only hire people with the proper ID.
Power: In his book "Good to Great," Jim Collins dispels the myth that "people" are our greatest business assets. The right people are, he says. Finding the right people is essential to any organization's growth and well-being.

Saying you should look for people with the "proper ID" is shorthand to help you remember to look for the right personal elements as well as the required professional acumen.

The "I" reminds us to look for people who have integrity, intelligence and initiative. The "D" reminds us to look for people with desire, determination and discipline.

The ID concept reminds us that integrity and discipline are required for sales success.

Remember: "Without the first quality, a person can cause great damage to your organization; without the last quality, a person will never do much of anything for your organization."

Principle: Confused people don't act
Power: People need a clear vision of what to do, how to do it and when it needs to be done. If the sales manager doesn't make the requirements of the task clear, as well as how they are to be executed, people won't act. Having a clear objective of what needs to be done, how it should be done and the timeframe for getting it accomplished is essential for both the salesperson and the sales manager.

Give your salespeople a clear and specific track to run on:

• Make sure they know what to do: "It is your role as a salesperson to find new prospects."

• Make sure they know how to do it: "Here are five possible ways of locating new prospects."

• Make sure they know when to do it: "Every day you need to spend a minimum of two hours focusing on getting new prospects."

Establishing expectations clearly also gives the sales manager the standards by which to manage.

Remember: Where there is no vision, the salespeople fail to thrive.

Principle: You train people initially; you develop people perpetually.
Power: When people come into a sales organization, they are initially trained on the products and services the company offers. They are trained on the pricing, financing options, the delivery systems and all the information needed to sell for this particular organization and/or in a certain profession.

They are also trained in the basics of the sales process, though if they have previous sales experience, they may receive less in the way of actual sales skills training.

In any case, eventually that type of training ends, with the exception of minor updates, such as training on new pricing or administrative procedures. And, it is unfortunate but true that in many cases, once trained, salespeople are never developed. You need to remind salespeople of fundamental sales skills to reinforce those skills, and you need to teach and coach them in advanced sales skills.

Effective managers know that once people are trained on the basics of the business, they should forever be developing their skills. Continuous improvement is critical for the future development of a sales staff. You must not only remind salespeople about the fundamentals of the sales process because it's easy to get off track, but also make sure they are learning new skills at higher levels that will help them grow as sales professionals.

Remember: Initial training has an end, but the ongoing development of a person never does.

Professionalism
When sales managers commit to selling as their life's work, they start looking at things differently. They come to realize the more professional they become, the better quality people they can attract and keep.

Once the commitment is made to become the consummate professional, the sales manager finds the power to achieve the discipline necessary to reach new levels of success.

Following are three principles and the power they possess to help you get better at focusing on the professional aspects of sales management success.

Principle: Demonstrate the behavior you expect.
Power: Leaders of the organization set the tone for everything. They are, like it or not, the model. It is so important for sales managers to realize that every behavior they demonstrate sends a message, a message of what is acceptable and what is not.

Sales managers who follow this principle are always early for any meeting. They always address things that are not in alignment with the company's values at the appropriate time and in the correct manner. They walk with a sense of mission and talk with strength of purpose. They understand that their every behavior, action and word is creating the model of "how things should be done around here."

Remember: Your organization will be a reflection of your behavior.

Principle: Do what you say and only say what you can do.
Power: One of the most important things sales managers need from the members of their sales team is trust. Trust must be earned through the things you say and do. When people trust their leaders they will follow them, and when they don't, they will instead always question them.

Professional sales managers understand that the greatest quality they can possess is that of integrity. You establish your integrity over time by being a person who does what you say you will.

Too often, sales managers will answer a question or grant a request without taking enough time to think the situation through. When it later turns out they gave the wrong answer or they can't follow through, their integrity is damaged. When building a career, it is important to do the things you say, but to also be careful what you say.

Remember: We are judged by others by what we say and what we do.

Principle: Use your influence, not your authority, to get things done.
Power: Sales managers who use their authority or position to get things done have a difficult road to travel. Managing this way never brings out the best your people have to give. It's a management style that doesn't breed loyalty, only contempt.

Sales managers who use the ability to influence others in a positive way get more done—and get it done better. When people are doing things because they want to, they put more of themselves into the task and take pride in owning the job.

Influencing others requires building relationships. It requires effective communication and trust from those who follow you. The sales manager who masters the art of influence establishes a committed group of people willing to do whatever it takes to reach the department's goals and objectives.

Remember: The ability to influence far outweighs the authority to demand.

Performance
A sales manager is in a paid-for-performance profession. However, the sales manager can't produce all the sales volume an organization requires. After all, if one person can produce all the sales needed, there's no need for a sales manager.

Sales managers must produce results through the efforts of other people. Their ability to manage and lead their organization successfully not by doing themselves but by getting things done through other people is critical.

Following are three principles and the power they possess to help you get better at focusing on the performance aspects of sales management success.

Principle: You can't be a manager and not lead.
Power: Managers must not only be effective sales managers, they also must be inspiring leaders. Leaders think strategically; managers implement tactically. Leaders set the goals; managers reach the goals. Leaders foster teamwork; managers mobilize the team.

Understanding this principle allows managers to have a clear understanding that there are times when they are managing—getting things done—but they are also always leading.
 
Being clear on the leadership role of being a sales manager is critical to the long term success of the organization. Inspiring leaders are masters at creating and communicating a clear vision of where the organization is going and how they intend to get there.

An effective leader is good at driving change, at getting people to commit to the overall goals and vision of the company while getting everyone in the organization working together.

Remember: You may not be managing at any giving moment, but you are leading every second.

Principle: Sales managers are always selling.

Power: When people move from the role of salesperson to sales manager, regardless of whether or not they are selling managers, they never stop selling. As a matter of fact, they start selling at a new level, and selling new things.

For example, ask any salesperson the biggest sale they've ever made, and they can tell you off the top of their head. If you ask a sales manager that question, his or her answer should be a name: Susan, George, Barbara or Bill. It should be the name of someone they have sold on entering the profession, or joining their company, who subsequently became a star performer, selling hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of dollars in products and services.

Selling people on themselves, on reaching higher goals, on the importance of making that second effort—these are just few of the sales a sales manager has to make. Successful sales managers realize they are selling some idea, concept or attitude to someone every day.

Remember: The day a sales manager stops selling is the day he or she stops succeeding.

Principle: You may not always be hiring, but you should always be recruiting.
Power: Most sales managers hire during a time of crisis. They hire when they need someone now. Too often, they therefore make hasty decisions that are not in the best interest of either their company or the person they hire.

Often sales managers recruit when sales are not going well, which may mean morale is down, as well. A new person coming into such a negative situation may soon leave, believing the opportunity is not what they were led to believe it would be.

This is why sales managers should always be recruiting, whether or not they are hiring at that particular moment. They should always be talking about the opportunity their profession offers. They should always be educating their marketplace about the fact that they are always looking for top sales talent.

Since you never know when a top-producing person may leave your organization, and because you never know when the best sales talent in your market may be looking for a change, you should always be recruiting.

Remember: Every week you don't recruit, the next month you may settle for a lesser degree of performance.

People, professionalism, performance
Building an effective, professional, ethical and productive sales organization is the result of years of commitment, effort and determination.

A successful sales organization is made up of people who see selling as their profession of choice and understand that performance is an everyday responsibility.

A successful sales manager is one who can attract the right people, help them become professionals and achieve consistent performance. To do this, sales managers must operate on a set of principles that provides them with a clear vision of what is possible.

Sales management success requires a lifelong search to discover the principles that will transform them and in turn allow them to transform their people, who will then transform our business.

This requires discovering the right people and then helping them understand that selling can be a true profession, helping them internalize your organization's purpose and influencing them to act.

Remember: If you practice the principles, you will possess the power.

PRENEED SALES SUCCESS: PART 2 0F 3

The best definition of marketing is that it consists of absolutely every bit of contact your business has with any segment of the public, a circle that begins with your ideas for generating revenue with the goal of amassing a large number of repeat and referral customers.

In part 1 we covered one of the key elements of your marketing efforts, that is, advertising as it relates to media selection and the tracking of results.

In Part 2, we will be covering the critical topic of the content of your advertising, and in part 3, we will begin to delve into other marketing issues such as price, public relations and the customer experience.

A company can advertise in many different ways, including price and item; branding or top-of-mind awareness; and direct response. At Mount Royal Commemorative Services we have made a commitment to a concept called educational marketing.

Our ads, primarily on the radio (as explained in Part 1), have three main components.

First, the "hook." The initial seven seconds is critical if you want to grab the listeners' attention, so our ads start with a question such as: "Did you know that one out of every two Canadians chooses cremation over traditional burial?" or "Did you know that 71 percent of consumers preplan their funeral arrangements when making a will?"

Second, more information. We provide more details on the topic introduced by the question, and relate that information to the benefits offered by Mount Royal.

Third, the call to action. Even though our ads take an educational approach, advertising without a call to action is wasted. Unless you're General Motors or McDonald's, the concept of branding is difficult to achieve when you are working with a limited budget. Advertising involves getting your name out, and branding is simply attaching something to your name.

What call to action do we use? It's simple: ''Call today for your free information kit with no obligation." You need to repeat the phone number at least twice in the ad, and then your company name and slogan.
For example: "Call today for your free information kit with no obligation ... 279- PLAN ... that's 279-7526. Mount Royal Commemorative Services ... tradition ... trust ... tribute."

Bad response rate? It's probably your fault.
Most advertising isn't working like it should, and in most cases the blame lies entirely with the advertiser. Most advertisers insist on repetitiously cramming the name of their company, the name of their product, their business hours and their street address into every ad they buy.

Such ads do a great job of answering the "who, where, what and when" but fail to answer the all-important question "why?" Bad advertising is about the advertiser; good advertising is about the customer.

Alvin Eicoff created the direct-response television industry. A contrarian, his philosophies shocked the advertising community, but his success could not be denied. Eicoff sold product. Lots of product. The phrase "or your money back" is his. Those ubiquitous 800 numbers came into being in part because of Eicoff.

Eicoff was elected to the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame and was cited by Advertising Age as one of the 50 most influential advertising people in television history. His three-part approach for creative advertising was simple:

1.    State the problem.
2.    Explain the solution.
3.    Demonstrate how your product or service best provides the solution.

Another method of approaching ad content:

•    Focus on the prospect.
•    Emphasize your USP (unique selling proposition)....
•    Repeat, repeat, repeat.
•    Add testimonials.
•    Provide a guarantee.
•    Offer a premium.
•    Set a deadline.
•    Tell them what to do.

The educational approach works
Over the last five years, our educational marketing approach has paid great dividends. We have amassed a database of approximately 5,000 prospects, people who have contacted us to request our free information kit.

Some of these prospects have prearranged with us; the others are part of our CRM (customer relationship management) program, which enables us to make many "touch points," including our newsletters and phone calls.

The content of the information kit sent out is very important. Make sure it is filled with relevant information that will pique their interest so you will be able to schedule a follow-up meeting. Our counselors contact all those who receive an information kit within 10 days and try to set up an appointment.

The bottom line is that even a million dollar ad campaign encompassing television, radio, print and billboards will fail without the right message. Stay away from price, clichés and generic death care approaches.

People want more information about our profession, so provide it to them and watch your business grow.

Next: Part 3 will discuss marketing of which advertising is just one component.

An effective preneed program takes work.
You need to generate leads in a variety of ways and give your salespeople the incentive to succeed.

In part one we focused on the first two components of a successful preneed program: program planning, monitoring and alignment and counselor recruiting, hiring and training. These components must be established prior to implementing the last two components: lead-generation and lead-management programs and incentive and recognition programs.

Component #3:
Lead generation and management
One hallmark of a successful preneed system is a diverse lead-generation program. If one or two lead-generation sources are successful, by all means continue to implement those tactics, but consider broadening your marketing mix. If your firm is successful now, imagine the potential for added success if you implement additional lead-generation tactics.

A successful preneed program should include the following four lead-generation sources to increase leads, build brand in the community and increase market share:
1.    direct mail
2.    seminars
3.    referrals
4.    family follow-up

Direct Mail. Direct mail is an effective way to promote your preneed program and funeral home and/or cemetery brand to target audiences in your market. While the industry standard response rate for direct mail is 1 percent, a well-researched and executed campaign can garner response rates up to 10 percent.

When selecting a direct mail campaign from your preneed provider or another source, consider the following to increase the response rate:
• Does the mailing include a business reply card?
• Is the call to action clear in the direct mail piece?
• Is there an incentive for consumers to respond?
• Is the funeral home and/or cemetery contact information easy to locate?
• Is the font large enough for seniors to read?
• Does the piece appeal to the diverse age group in your target market?
• Do the photos include pictures of active seniors?
• Is the piece—both the design and marketing copy-appealing?

Seminars. Seminars are planned community presentations designed to communicate the value and benefit of advanced planning. Seminar topics may include social security, estate taxes, veterans' benefits and legal issues in addition to preplanning and prefunding.

Although presenting the benefits of preneed at your local church or Kiwanis meeting can be successful, your firm can achieve more qualified leads by hosting a seminar because your audience has essentially prequalified itself as viable leads.

Seminars are an effective way to:
• increase the number of leads by sharing the preneed story with a large audience;
• promote your company's brand in a professional and caring manner;
• provide a valuable community service by educating the public on preneed and possibly other important life planning issues; and
• increase your firm's market share cost effectively.

Referrals. Referrals from satisfied customers are often your best leads because they are free and provide immediate contact opportunities. Successful firms use referrals as an ongoing means of generating highly qualified prospects.

When requesting referrals, counselors should simply ask a satisfied customer if any friends, family or business associates could also benefit from this service. This will provide a constant inventory of warm leads. As an incentive, you may also choose to reward referrals with discounts and/or promotional gifts.

Family follow-up. Contacting the family of the deceased within a week of the funeral or burial is one of the most effective ways to secure future business and create additional preneed business. Your company will benefit from family follow-up for a couple of reasons.

First, it ensures that the family was satisfied with the services. If the service did not meet the needs of the family, then it provides you with an opportunity to correct the situation.

Second, you create goodwill for your firm by expanding the family's care beyond the initial service.

Third, you establish the opportunity to secure future at-need business with the family and possibly referrals. The family's positive experience will ensure they consider your funeral home or cemetery when the need arises, and might provide referrals to their family, friends and business associates.

It is essential that the funeral home director or whoever is handling arrangements at the cemetery set the stage for preneed at the conclusion of the at-need arrangement. He or she can introduce the preneed counselor who will be conducting the follow-up, or explain to the family the counselor will be calling them shortly and provide the family with the counselor's business card.

Managing your leads is just as important—if not more important—as generating them. Software programs and training should be available through your preneed provider to help counselors manage and track sales, collect marketing information and follow up with prospects.

Component #4:
Counselor incentive and recognition
Recognition is an important part of any preneed program. Rewarding counselors and managers with incentive trips and programs can boost confidence, morale and loyalty to the funeral home or cemetery. An employee who is recognized and appreciated is more inclined to continue to be successful.

Your preneed provider should be able to help you design incentive and recognition programs for your firm as well as sponsor its own program, whether it's an incentive trip to an attractive, high value destination or a newsletter that acknowledges top performers and provides insight for superior results.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that implementing and developing a successful preneed program is challenging, but every funeral home can achieve success. It requires the consistent application of the basics: program planning, monitoring and alignment; counselor recruiting, hiring and training; lead generation and management programs; and incentive and recognition programs.

Creating a successful preneed program-or improving an existing one-involves planning. In this two-part column, Samantha Franck will tell you what your plan must cover.
 
Preneed secures future at-need business and is a critical aspect of a funeral home or cemetery's future profitability. Besides being a proactive tool against competitors, an active preneed program is proven to increase call volume, reduce bad debt, increase cash flow and increase the number of funded funerals or interments.

However, the benefits of preneed cannot be realized by simply hiring a preneed counselor and advertising in your local paper. Similar to at-need business, an active preneed program requires strategic planning and ongoing support.

The consistent application of the basics ensures a successful preneed program. The basics include:

1.    program planning, monitoring and alignment;
2.    counselor recruiting, hiring and training;
3.    lead generation and management programs; and
4.    incentive and recognition programs.

Whether your firm is considering developing a preneed program or has an established program in place, take time to evaluate the basics. After all, preneed is a long-term investment and ensures your firm will have the potential for solid business in the future.

Component #1:
Program planning, monitoring and alignment
To establish a successful preneed program, begin by developing a preneed business plan that will chart your course. Your plan should include:
•    a detailed review of the firm's current situation, including strengths and weaknesses;
•    a prioritized listing of objectives, including financial goals;
•    target audiences;
•    strategies and tactics; and
•    an implementation timeline.

After your firm begins implementing the tactics, it is important to measure the growth of your current program against the goals your firm has established. Ideally, this evaluation is conducted on a routine basis-bi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually—with new goals
being set for the next period.
With the assistance of your preneed provider, your firm should examine the following:
•    volume and projected profitability of future funerals secured;
•    counselor productivity and close rate; and
•    lead generation results.

It is also important to evaluate each preneed marketing initiative, whether it includes publicity, direct mail, seminars, family follow-up or advertising. Marketing initiatives should include the following evaluations:
•    audience reach;
•    total investment;
•    response rate;
•    close rate; and
•    average funeral amount.

This data will help your firm identify the most effective marketing initiatives and help determine which initiatives should be the focus in the future.

After reviewing each period, your firm, along with your preneed provider, should create a plan of action for the next period. This is your opportunity to ask critical questions:
•    What successful activities should you continue to expand?
•    What areas need improvement?
•    Which tactics should be implemented in order to achieve the objectives, and what is the timeline?
•    How will the objectives be measured?

It is important to evaluate the results of the last period in order to develop challenging yet realistic goals for the future.

And finally, in order for a preneed program to be successful, the entire staff has to support the program, including the at-need staff. Talk with your entire staff and share the goals and objective of the preneed program.

Component #2:
Counselor recruiting, selecting and training
You can develop the best preneed business plan, but without the right staff, you will accomplish nothing. This is why recruiting, selecting and training of personnel is the second component of an active preneed system. It is important to hire employees with a vested interest in preneed and in your firm, employees who will not jump at the first offer from a competitor.

The first step to hiring high-caliber candidates is developing a job posting that produces a high rate of response from qualified candidates. When creating job postings, consider the following:
•    Define the job criteria that are essential for someone to perform effectively.
•    Focus on a typical day, on the responsibilities and the exciting aspects of the position.
•    Do not just tell the reader about the position—sell the position. Discuss your company's environment, culture and staff.
•    Provide a potential salary range.
•    Include as much specific information as possible. This will increase your chances of attracting more qualified people.

The next step is effectively screening applicants. It is essential to develop a process for screening applicants prior to reviewing resumes. Consider developing a chart listing each candidate's job qualifications and then ranking each candidate.

Once you have screened the candidates, the next step is conducting the interviews. Behavioral interviews will enable you to clearly determine whether the candidate possesses the competencies to perform the job.

A behavioral interview involves asking candidates to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and abilities by describing situations they have experienced. For example, ask questions similar to ''Tell me about a time when you made a successful presentation to a prospect and experienced a favorable response."

Training the preneed counselors you hire is just as important as hiring the right people. Your firm should plan to provide initial training for all newly hired counselors, as well as regular refresher courses or programs designed to sharpen and expand the sales skills of experienced counselors.

Preneed providers often have managers in the field who can provide preneed counselors with ongoing education and support to help maintain consistent sales and increase productivity. They may also offer training workshops, one-on-one coaching and tools to develop and enhance a preneed counselor or manager's marketing skills.

Because the recruiting, selection and training process is time-consuming, preneed providers and other industry sources often provide these services to funeral homes. Do not hesitate to request referrals from the provider you are considering.

In conclusion, the first two components—program planning, monitoring and alignment and counselor recruiting, hiring and training-are imperative to a successful preneed program. These components should be established prior to implementing the next two components, which are lead generation and management programs and incentive and recognition programs.

Could your sales message be designed to appeal to fewer than one-third of your potential customers? The answer is yes, if you think your typical potential customer is a man.
 
Futurist Faith Popcorn calls it "the dominant economic force in the country." There are 190 million of them in the United States.

They have $4.4 trillion in buying power. They purchase 81 percent of all products and services, and they influence most of the rest of purchases. They are responsible for 85 percent of the checks written. Forty-seven percent of them are stockholders. Forty percent of households with assets of more than $600,000 are headed by them.

And, they make 67 percent of funeral arrangements. Who are they? Women. Clearly, to be effective, your funeral home or cemetery's sales and marketing efforts need to consider how and why women make purchasing decisions.

How women buy
There are five basic factors to keep in mind when selling to women:

1. Women create relationships. Before women want to learn about your products and services, they want to get to know you. Don't just start talking—listen first. Women need to feel comfortable with you before they buy. Women want to create an authentic, personable interaction with you.

2. Women want a pleasurable experience. They are looking for an organization they can connect to and with whom they can have a pleasurable experience. The next time you walk into Nordstrom's, notice the person playing the beautiful piano; notice the coffee cart and warm wood everywhere. Women want a shopping experience to be pleasurable.

3. Women often buy from the periphery. Starbucks is a perfect example of how to take advantage of this. Notice how their stores have CDs on the counter. The coffee company knows women like music but won't usually take the time to go to a music store to buy it.

4. Women care about your company's reputation and motivation. They will pay up to 20 percent more for a product if they feel that you and your business are trying to make the world or the community a better place.

5. Women want you to help them simplify their lives. Most women are doing the work of four people. They are (or were) a wife, a mother, perhaps a grandmother and often a business person as well. No wonder so many women are stressed out! Make it easy to do business with you.

Women can see right through a standard sales pitch. In general, they respond to a Dale Carnegie rule that says, "People want to know how much you care before they care about how much you know." In selling preneed or at-need products and services, it is paramount that you listen to their story as you would with a good friend. I am recommending that you sincerely make a new friend, not just a customer.

The average man, on the other hand, doesn't want to talk about his feelings. Men in general don't talk about their feelings—especially not to a salesperson. Men just want to take care of business. Most women want to feel like they have a relationship, while most men want efficiency.

Getting it right
Sweat the details. Pay close attention to the entire experience your customer has with your firm. Work at making her experience, which often occurs at a very difficult time, as comfortable as possible. Is your parking lot free of potholes, ice or oil stains? Are your windows clean? Is the front door clean? Do you offer to carry the urn or her husband's personal items to her car? Is the bathroom cleaned regularly? Believe it or not, I've visited many funeral homes where the bathrooms are downright dirty.

Offer her a beverage and present it in a clean glass or beautiful tea cup with a saucer on a silver tray. Men may be fine with Styrofoam, but women will appreciate the china. These are the types of everyday details that are important to women.

Sell to their peripheral vision. Information about all of your products and services should be readily available. You may want to consider installing a literature rack near the ladies' room.

Do you sell acknowledgement cards? What about books on grieving? By offering these peripheral products, you also make your customers' lives easier. Why should they go to amazon.com or Borders to buy a book on grieving when you are the expert? Why not offer a line of tasteful acknowledgement cards so they don't have to go out and buy them somewhere else?

Get outside the funeral home and meet people where they work, play and volunteer. Be more than just "bricks and mortar." Sponsor "lunch break" talks on preplanning the funeral either for your potential customers or their parents at some of the larger companies in your area. Sponsor a walk to raise money for breast cancer research. Consider partnering with local gyms, spas and family practices to offer grief counseling and end-of-life planning. This also lets them know you care about the community.

Offer convenience and guidance. Women want convenience and a simpler life. Why do you think pre-washed lettuce in a bag has become such a popular product? It's certainly not because it's cheaper—women will pay more for convenience.

Women also want to do things well and make a difference in the lives of those they care about. Your job is to offer help and guidance so that making decisions about end-of-life matters is as simple and uncomplicated as possible.
If you help a woman through an at-need or preneed process and she comes out feeling as though she made the right decisions, if you help a woman through the arrangements for a loved one's funeral and you make the terrible experience easier for her, she'll sing your praise the rest of your life.

Do you sit down with your customers and go over a timeline of the funeral and describe the options that can be included? Do you offer a selection of songs that can be downloaded from the Internet and played at the service? Do you offer meaningful options such as dove releases? Have you partnered with people who might have boat, air or land scattering services? Most important, have you offered to coordinate all the details for them?

Find your own voice. This is not solely about catering to women; it's also about finding what you are passionate about. If it's planning life celebrations, then make that your area of expertise. If you identify what motivates you and what your focus is, women will be attracted to your business, and you will have a better chance of appearing on their radar.

Keep those loyal customers
How do you keep these customers once you get them? How's your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system? Set up a system to remember them with a birthday card every year. Send a condolence note on the anniversary of their loved one's death. Send a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day with a handwritten note. Send a Thanksgiving card. (Everyone sends Christmas cards—try something different.) Try to make her day, but be consistent and be sincere. Women can smell a fake from a mile away.

Does all this sound like a lot of trouble? Remember, women make up two-thirds of your market. And when you gain a happy female customer, there are a couple of bonuses:

• Because women are more inclined to long-term relationships, enhanced loyalty means every sales and marketing dollar invested in female customer acquisition results in a higher retention rate.

• Because word-of-mouth is more prevalent among women, they are more likely to refer others to businesses that impress them favorably—in essence, free marketing of the most powerful kind.

In summary, the next time you work with a female customer; take the time to get to know who she is. Think about her shopping experience with you and whether you are making the experience as pleasurable as possible. Get involved in the community so she knows you are trying to make the world a better place.

Most important, make the whole process of dealing with you and your funeral home or cemetery simple and easy. If you can make it effortless for her, you've truly done a great job.

Companies that overlook the magnitude of women's rapidly growing buying clout will find themselves fast losing ground to competitors who recognize the new force in an old phrase: the power of the purse.

Great salespeople exceed their quotas, but the irony is they don't do it by pushing the highest-priced services and merchandise. It's when you forget about what's best for your bottom line and concentrate on what's best for the customer that your sales career blossoms and becomes a profession.

When I first began at St. Michael's Cemetery, I was hired as a "memorial counselor." I found the term confusing, since my job was selling; I was expected to meet a monthly sales quota. It was impressed upon me from the very first that if I thought I could depend on at-need sales ... well, there wouldn't be any need for me at St. Michael's.

In addition to learning to sell preneed, I was expected to figure out how to educate clients accustomed to traditional burial options about the benefits of community mausoleums.

Frankly, I saw the job—and the profession—as nothing more than a temporary stopover until something better came along.

The challenge of learning to sell
The manager who interviewed me assured me that under the best of circumstances, I should have no expectation of competing with the cemetery's top salesman, who had been number one in sales for years.

But one good thing about competing with someone who has been successful for a long time is that success often makes people reluctant to change—the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" attitude. But the reality is that absolutely nothing in life (or in what's available after death) stays the same. Refuse to change and the world will run right over you.

It took a few months of learning about the cemetery profession, its “Jargon" and what options St. Michael's offered families before all the pieces fell into place for me. But when the New Year arrived, the race was on.

My first full year as a memorial counselor was exciting. Sales increased from one month to the next as more and more clients sought me out. I was learning what a blessing referrals are. As my temporary job slowly blossomed into a career, I learned more about the keys to success.

1. Concentrate on meeting your clients' needs rather than your sales quotas. I discovered that sales were a byproduct of my true role of understanding what clients were saying. That understanding allowed me to help people make choices based on what they want, not on what would add the most to my commission.

When you develop this type of relationship with clients, you become that no longer mysterious person, the "memorial counselor." Your first obligation is to be a resource to people who have definite and discernable (to those who are listening) desires, but no idea of the options available.

The interesting thing is that once I made this change from being a sales representative to being a counselor, I ended up with record sales. By the end of my first full year, I was number one in sales for that year, with record sales for a St. Michael's counselor. So the rewards for being able to hear what clients wanted were both personally and financially satisfying.

I began to fully embrace and take pride in what was now my chosen profession.

2. Recognize that you're meeting an important human need; be proud of what you do. When I first started working at St. Michael's, I never told people what I did for a living. I found it embarrassing, maybe even morbid.

Once I realized that as a memorial counselor I was serving the needs of the individuals and families who come to St. Michael's, I began proudly announcing my profession.

I remember the first party my wife and I attended after I had this change in attitude.  There were a number of doctors among the guests, and as is typical, the doctors were surrounded by people asking them for answers to medical questions or for informal diagnoses.

Someone asked me what I did and I answered truthfully and with enthusiasm. Did people then shy away from me? To the contrary; as word spread of my occupation, people started coming over to talk to me.

Soon I, too, was attracting an interested crowd of people with questions to ask. Each answer I gave seemed to spark another question. The evening passed very pleasantly, and since that night, my wife and I have never lacked for party invitations.

3. Make community outreach a key part of your sales and marketing efforts. Not long after joining St. Michael's, I was offered the position of sales and marketing manager. I insisted that the position also include the title of director of community affairs.

It was clear to me from working with families that we had to look past our gates if we wanted a healthy future for the cemetery. St. Michael's had to be more than the place where people drop off family members after their lives have ended.

A cemetery is and must always be a place to celebrate life. A cemetery must welcome those who want to maintain a connection with their roots and their loved ones, as well as the greater community.

We offer security and peace to those who seek it, as well as a full slate of events to make the entire community feel welcome at St. Michael's.

4. Never get complacent. During my years at St. Michael's, sales have continued to increase. While this is a good thing, I'm always scared of becoming comfortable and reluctant to change. To my way of thinking, nothing is perfect and everything could be improved upon.

Though I no longer have direct contact with families, I've made sure the salespeople I supervise reflect my beliefs. I try to maintain their competitive edge, while emphasizing that they can expect their compensation to continually increase when they put their clients' needs ahead of their own.

One day I was out on the grounds when I ran into a client who happened to be visiting. He had bought crypt space preneed and preconstruction, based on a drawing. Seeing his mausoleum space for the first time, he was impressed by its beauty, which he said exceeded his expectations, as well by as the overall environment at St. Michael's, which continues to evolve.

After thanking me for helping him select the right memorial property for him, he looked around and said, "I can't wait till I'm here!"

I'm sure he didn't mean to put it quite like that, but it was nevertheless a nice compliment to St. Michael's. To me, it meant that we're doing a great job—but we shouldn't stop trying to do an even better one.

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen: Once again I come before this august body as a pinch-hitter, and knowing that pinch-hitters usually have the habit of striking out, I hope too much will not be expected of me in trying to cover the subject, "Organizing the New Cemetery."

Mr. William Nelson, my associate in Whitemarsh Memorial Park requests me to extend his deepest regrets and apologies for being unable to attend our meeting here this morning, and to deliver his own address. Business and other circumstances made it impossible for him to be present. He wants me to say, however, that he is going to try to run over to attend a few of the sessions, to say "hello" and to renew some of his former acquaintances.

On my own behalf, I am gratified to see such a large attendance and look forward to an ever-increasing association, built on the right ideals, with a broad-mindedness to find a place for all the different groups associating in our business, whether it be monument or non-monument. I personally believe that if each and every man's honest opinion is considered sincerely and respected by the other fellow, we will go far. Should just the opposite occur, I am fearful for it.

Let us pause on this point for just a moment. As you are all aware, this Association was built up out of the meeting we held in Chicago about four years ago, at which time several memorial park owners got together for the purpose of binding ourselves in an association for our mutual protection. Later on the name of the association was changed to the "American Cemetery Owners Association" with the idea in mind of taking into this group, the owners of cemeteries other than memorial parks, until today we have quite a large percentage representing this type of the business.

We believe there is room for all groups and all opinions in this business, providing one or the other group is not dominated or discredited in the eyes of the opposing group. We invited owners of cemeteries other than memorial parks into our group. We gave unsparingly and unselfishly of our knowledge and experiences under the banner that there was room for all and that we should do everything possible for everybody else. Let us not take away that banner standing for this mutual understanding. I do not mean, however, that we should countenance or approve unethical selling methods. I have said before and I now reiterate--crooked promoters and crooked salesmen have no place and are not wanted in this Association. Let us maintain and keep alive that splendid spirit that has carried us this far and let there be no pause in the good fellowship and the sincere desire to help the other fellow. May I say this for the Association: This is our aim; this is our ideal.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, I was pinch-hitting on a talk regarding the "Organizing of a New Cemetery," and not the aims and ideals of an association. Those of you, who know me well, will realize that I am a drifter, drifting from one subject to another; they say this is a form of insanity. But I am not going to worry about that at this time-I'll let you worry about it. Then too, you will also know that on a dry subject such as the one I am supposed to talk about, I am certainly stepping out of character. You know, I don't know where Roy Hatten gets all the subjects that he hands out to the different speakers, I suppose he pulls them out of a hat.

There is not really much you can say about the organizing of a new cemetery. It can be briefly put in a few words and paragraphs, and on the surface this would appear to be all the requirements, but as many of you have sadly found out, there is a great deal more to it than appears. Before you get actively engaged in the business of a cemetery, it appears simple. After you are in it awhile, you will find out that you are in one of the most difficult businesses in the world today. This is what I would call an "opposite" business. You do everything opposite to what you would first think the proper procedure.

The first requisite upon entering the cemetery business is to get "bitten by the itching bug." By that I mean the "Cemetery Bug.” These bugs usually bite you on the palm of the hand and you develop an itching palm. That is your take-off into the realm of cemeteries.

In the original organization, of course, there are several steps to be taken. First, a suitable plot of ground should be secured, preferably without streams, for in many states the health laws prohibit the establishing of a cemetery, through which runs any streams that are tributary to streams from which drinking water is secured. In the highly populated areas this applies to practically all streams. This piece of ground should also be as free of rock as possible, and suitable for burial purposes. In choosing your property, I believe two of the most important features to be taken into consideration are: First, that it be not very distant from the center of the residential population. In larger cities, I would say this should be approximately 10 to 15 miles. In smaller cities or towns, this distance should be considerably less, and most important of all, there should be transportation, and from an advertising standpoint, the property should be located along the main highway. This saves thousands and thousands of dollars in educating the public to go up some side road to find your cemetery.  The ground also should rise somewhat above the roadbed. I found that people do not like to look down upon a cemetery from a highway.

After the acquiring of the ground, it becomes necessary of course to get the cemetery charter, establish an office, the advertising and training of salesmen, proper literature for their sales kits. Some of the grounds should be cleared and at least a few acres at the front and preferably the entrance should be improved. This Improvement Program, to those selling from an investment angle, should not be carried too far back of the entrance. Quite an item in your sales talk is the visualization of future improvements. Your improvements can be planned by any architect and the actual construction can be carried on by yourself if you have the proper superintendent and other lieutenants such as a civil engineer, a landscape gardener, etc., which is the method we pursued in building Whitemarsh Memorial Park. Most of the work in building our park has been done by the company's own departments and their own labor. In doing it in this manner there is a tremendous amount of saving.

May I say here, that one of the last major improvements in Whitemarsh Memorial Park is now being built, and that is the Tower of Chimes.  It will be 172 ft. high, built of steel, granite and limestone. The general contractor on this particular job is the company itself. We believe in doing it this way. On the tower unit alone we will save in the neighborhood of $25,000.00. So you see that doing your own work, if you want to take the trouble to supervise this phase of the business, saves the company considerable money. All you have to do after that, is to sell lots, put the improvements in, keep faith with your customers, and live up to your promises, and behold, you have a beautiful memorial park no matter what part of the country you are situated in.

It seems the only thing I can think of after all this is to recommend to you one of the 100 page sales booklets which has been compiled by my other associate, Mr. Lawrence C. Downey, of Whitemarsh Memorial Park, and which explains in detail how to sell and train men for every phase of this particular business. There have been so many repeated requests for a copy of Larry's book that I understand he is contemplating printing some extra copies and selling them to fill these requests.

All this sounds simple, doesn't it? Well, that is how the building of memorial parks sounds to almost, everyone you sell a lot to.  Their first expression is, “What a swell and profitable business. Gee, I would like to start a cemetery." I remember back in about 1925, when I was a real estate broker on the New Jersey coast. You will well remember that we had quite a boom for a few years, which continued until about 1927. One day I happened to be sitting with another broker. It was he who really put the cemetery bug in my ear. I can hear him saying now, "George, after we have sold off all the coast line of the state of New Jersey, I think the cemetery business would be a good one to go into. You get 100 or more lots to the acre and you don't depend on booms to bring you customers."

That remark started me thinking, and from 1925 until 1930 I was investigating cemeteries at every opportunity, securing all the data and information available. The more I investigated, the more I thought that this was the real thing; that creating a cemetery was nothing but just an easy job. I was never more mistaken in my life. About the latter part of 1929, after the stock market crash, I was joined by my two associates, Mr. Nelson and Mr. Downey, and we did all the things that I mentioned before, and after all the exhaustive searches that I had made, and after we had had our eye teeth cut, and the new organization of the cemetery already set up, then we really began to find out the real way to run a cemetery-after it was organized.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the organization of a new cemetery goes way back to your school days. For a man or woman to be successful in this field must, out of necessity, have certain training along certain lines and certain qualifications which are obtained only through hard years of experience in visualizing the future, feeling the pulse of the public, experience in selling from a development standpoint, and a lot of other qualifications too numerous to mention.

You have gone through the country and you have observed memorial parks started, and a good many of them, alas, too many of them, are at a standstill. You have also run across men in this business that have the ability to build cemeteries, who have started perhaps more than one, and instead of keeping faith with the customer, and really building the cemetery, they put in the least improvements possible. You also have heard one of the real pioneers and a man of ability in this field; say the cycle of success in any particular business was to have a definite, safe profitable plan, with capable and honest management. If you have all these particular qualifications in your business, you will be successful and you will also realize what I mean when I say the organizing of a cemetery starts back in your school days. I would lay more stress on the latter of these requirements, and that is honest and capable management."

Honesty, of course, comes first, and capability second in the organizing of a new cemetery, for this business can only be a real success in capable hands. That might apply also in other businesses, but it seems that you can hire capable employees to handle your affairs in other businesses, but where on earth are you going to hire that which this business needs most; a capable sales manager who has had years of experience along certain necessary lines in this land of ours.  I know this is next to impossible, for I have heard many, many cemetery owners asking this same question.

A banker friend of mine once said to a man in his office, who was getting bitten pretty severely by the cemetery bug, and the great idea of a memorial park. His remarks to this man summed up, I believe, most emphatically the requirements in organizing a new cemetery.  “It is true that the memorial park idea is wonderful and everything you think it is.  That, Mr. Blank, is 5%.  The other 95% in accomplishing this great idea is sales ability in that particular field."

This banker’s words, Ladies and Gentlemen, express more than the things that I have been saying to you here this morning about what it takes to organize a new cemetery.  I believe that to be really successful in this business, active constant application in governing the affairs of a cemetery company should be confined to a few people who can closely watch through personal management every detail of this business.  I believe that your improvements should be strictly in accord with your brochure and never make a promise to the public or to the salesmen that you cannot and will not keep. Double all the promises to the salesmen and triple all the promises to the public and have the money in your hand before you let a contract for improvements.

A man’s personality is reflected in many ways: his handwriting, his personal appearance, the way he walks, how he accomplishes his work - are all a personal reflection of the character of the man.  So too, is the way you run your business and the way you build your cemetery, a personal reflection of your character. Those of you who have come here lacking some of the fundamental knowledge, experience and ability to carry your park any further than probably the initial start, where it may be getting stagnated, may I respectfully suggest this to them: First, try to get the proper sales manager. This I know is almost impossible, but failing in that, I would suggest that you sit down and talk with those of us here belonging to the Association, who know sales in this particular field. You will find quite a few of them here among you, and you will also find that they are ever ready to give you any ideas that they may possess to help you further along the road to success.

In closing, may I invite you to visit Whitemarsh Memorial Park.  It is less than two hours by automobile or train, and for most of you who are going west, your ticket will provide stop-over privileges in Philadelphia. You will see what we believe to be an execution of the principles that I have mentioned, and you will also see that we have strived to build a very beautiful memorial park. One that we hope is a credit to us and to the Association. It is needless to say, that you will be welcome. I sincerely trust you will pay us a visit.

From the publication:
“ACOA 1938 Cemetery Handbook and Buyers’ Guide"
8th Annual Meeting and Convention held at
Hotel New Yorker, NY

There are in the United States two monthly Magazines SYSTEM and MOTOR devoted to business and each month they both have articles by business men on the methods of accounting and methods they have found successful in obtaining custom. There is also in each Magazine a red hot story of a successful strategy whereby some large contract was obtained or a good customer recovered by the head of the firm who showed the boys how to do or a story by the cub salesman who thought it all out by himself: Oh! The story is beautiful and the method of obtaining customers succeeds so well, but THEY DON'T WORK FOR ME! And so I may present to you sources of income which succeeds so well at my Cemetery but may be of no use to you.

In displaying to you the sources of income that appear to me open to a Cemetery I expect only to speak of those which relate to the operation of a Cemetery and do not include ordinary farming or market garden operations for at West Laurel Hill Cemetery there are no sources of income which are not directly applicable to any Cemetery. West Laurel Hill Cemetery Greenhouse sells nothing outside the Cemetery. Anyone can run a Greenhouse; anyone can be a merchant for anything and a Cemetery can grow and market potatoes or spinach or any farm product—it can hire its gardeners out to care for private places as West Laurel Hill Cemetery has often been solicited by its lot holders to do (but never has allowed) but all of these sources of income are outside the scope of this article, as they are open to anyone—but legitimate sources of income for a Cemetery are those open only to a Cemetery.

The sources of income open to a Cemetery as I see it may be put under twelve heads and several sub-heads:
First-Courtesy
Second-Persistent Advertising
Third-Psychological Salesmanship
Fourth-General Good condition of Cemetery
Fifth-Sales of Burial Rights
(Lot sales)
(Single Graves)
(Community Mausoleums
(Crematory & Columbarium)
Sixth-Inculcation of the idea that the Cemetery in which is his lot is HIS Cemetery rather than the Cemetery of the selling Company.
Seventh-Institution (and addition to it from each sale) of a fund the income from which shall maintain the Cemetery.
Eighth-The institution and inculcation of individual ENDOWMENT of the individual lot holders own lot:
Ninth-Burial Charges
Receiving Tomb Charges
Rental of Special Mausoleums instead of use of Receiving Tomb
Charges for digging graves and usual attention at a funeral
Charges for special grave structures
Charges for grave and dirt pile decoration and use of tents, etc.
Removal charges from grave to grave or as ordered.
Tenth-Income from construction of foundations and work connected therewith, as corner post holes and derrick guy line posts.
E1eventh-Greenhouse work
Bouquets, cut flowers and floral designs
Christmas designs and decorations
Faster and Memorial Day floral requirements
Flowerbeds
Planting Graves
Sodding and grading
Special trees    
Special yearly care of lots and
Talking up endowments:
Twelfth-Endowments

In presenting to you after twenty-seven years of Cemetery work the sources of income that appear to me open to a Cemetery, I expect only to speak of those which relate to a Cemetery and do not touch the farming operations which may be proper for the outlying or undeveloped parts.

First. Courtesy-I put courtesy and a spirit of interest in everyone coming to the Cemetery as one of the best sources of income a Cemetery can have—in the early days of West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Yes! In the very early days when West Laurel Hill Cemetery was so far from the haunts of men that anyone could be excused for saying “Where is it at? I mean in the years 1869 to 1876. The Secretary at the City Office was a man who was courtesy itself; Listen to you, hear all about your life and remember it!! and yet he was always putting the Cemetery where the talker remembered it—Did his hours spent with aunt Jane and cousin Mary pay? Yes. They paid. By courtesy I do not mean an outward overflow of hand shaking and what I may call palaver, but that indescribable something which bespeaks interest in you. No matter if it is a child—no matter if it, is the poorest owner of a single grave—the child or the poorest owner of a single grave may have the word to say to some wealthy person "Go to West Laurel Hill Cemetery." Yes!! I see you say that is a low reason for courtesy-true!! But you want to see behind the scenes and I am showing you. I know whereof I speak—indeed, I have known of people once poor to become rich and the warmth of the courtesy shown them when poor made them a client, ah! That's a word!! Made them a client when rich.

Second. Persistent Advertising. Where—When—How. At West Laurel Hill persistent advertising through the last forty years has been by a two or three line ad in one or two daily newspapers and by a small pamphlet scattered broadcast over the city from the City Directory by mail—it pays—in one particular case the lady who bought a $500.00 lot told us she had thrown our pamphlet in the ash barrel and then, the next day, fished it out again. Again, and most important of all, West Laurel Hill Cemetery advertises by the persistent bombardment three times a year of lot holders and all whose names and addresses it is possible to obtain connected with lot holders; you come to our office and ask to see the lot or grave of John Smith—at once or as opportunity offers we get your name and address and relationship to John Smith and send you advertising matter three times a year.

Third. Physiological Salesmanship: What is it-Well! It is just the reverse of the psychological purchase of a horse. When you are psychologically purchasing a horse, you can see more defects in that horse than you can find after you purchase him—when you sell physiologically, you are weighing every point of the customer for that inkling of how high he will go—It is not his clothes; it is not the paint on his auto—it may be a sigh—it may be a hesitation as you walk by a lot—it is feeling the pulse of the prospect and at last perhaps shooting far ahead of his supposed mark so as to back gracefully down—it is saying—this lot is $15,000.00 dollars and noting an indescribable delay—perhaps be says to his wife—"How will that suit you Mother"!! The tone is enough—after that if you look at another lot you say, "It is not as good as your lot" clearly meaning the $15,000.00 lot. What is Psychological Salesmanship—it is so hard to tell—I give it up. You can cultivate it and never know you have it.

Fourth. General Good Condition of Roads and Lawns: Of course the appearance of the Cemetery will influence the prosperity of the Cemetery but there is often a neatness and evidence of care although all the grass may not be cut to hand mower shortness and the condition of roads and edging may vary in accordance with the locality; but neatness and evident care of the Cemetery are a source of income.

Fifth. Sales of Burial Rights.
Lot Sales
Single Graves
Community Mausoleum
Crematory and Columbarium

In most cemeteries the greater part of revenue from Lot Sales and in some communities the income from Single Graves is a source worthy of consideration but in Philadelphia I know of no Cemetery where it is worth considering and in my own Cemetery, West Laurel Hill, only 387 single graves have been disposed of in forty-eight years.

In regard to income from Community Mausoleums, Crematory and Columbarium, I am not in a position to speak as my own Cemetery has none and there is only one small community Mausoleum in or near Philadelphia and only one small Crematory and Columbarium which are under a society rather than in connection with a cemetery although the Society does own a few acres and sells lots. It may not be generally known that the Community Mausoleum was widely exploited as early as 1875, the idea then being, however, that the building would be in the built up portion of the city or on a lot in the city, entirely unconnected with the Cemetery.

Sixth. Inculcation of the idea that the cemetery in which is his lot is his cemetery rather than the cemetery of the company from whom he bought his lot.

A wise and successful owner of a department store in Philadelphia told people to come in, make yourself at home, the store is yours—but until his time such was not the fashion; the idea has spread until at lunch counters and such places, little watch seems to be kept of what people take. If we can get our lot owners to think of the cemetery as My Cemetery and not as belonging to he West Laurel Hill Cemetery Company—he will be a good missionary for the Cemetery. Some may say that the idea of ownership leads to the claim for privileges which would ride over all reasonable rules and' to read some Cemetery pamphlets it would seem as if the pages should each be headed with the good old German Sign "Es ist verboten".

Of course, the guiding hand must be there and the restraining and guiding must be done through our first heading COURTESY which is ever working from prospect of a sale to the grandchildren who may, and often do, endow a lot. And now I must touch on a point which will seem great heresy to many of you and that is that nothing awakens the feeling of affection and a desire to spend money for flowers and care of the lot as does the grave mound. Ah! My fellow members of the Association of American Cemetery Superintendents do not allow yourselves to believe you are true economists from a Cemetery standpoint when you smooth out your lots and destroy the evidence of burial. You are cutting the ground from beneath your feet—you are destroying a perpetual source of income. Trouble!! WHAT IS TROUBLE? You say a grave mound is in the way of your lawn mower—you say a grave mound burns out in summer: But if you will cultivate your lot owners and their sons and their daughters you can get orders to plant and replant the grave mounds and those you can't get orders to plant and replant stand you in good stead to show the awfulness of neglect. My friends, a thousand grave mounds mean several hundred dollars profit a year when you work it in the right manner—WORK!! Oh yes work—perhaps our positions would fade away if we did not and do not work. Mrs. Smith says "Look how nice Mrs. Jones' graves look—"I cannot be behind her!!!" This PROFIT on grave mounds will go on for years and will grow and grow.

Seventh. Institution and Maintenance of a fund the income from which will provide for the future care of the Cemetery—this fund to be IN TRUST with a reliable Trust Company and out of the hand's of the changing Cemetery authorities. West Laurel Hill Cemetery has from the first sale of the lot laid away ten per cent of the purchase money to form with like sums from all, other lot sales a Permanent Fund, we call it, income from which is and shall hereafter be applied to the care of the Cemetery, its roads, walks, buildings and appurtenances and, as a matter of fact, as far as it will go to the care of lots. The money so laid away is placed IN TRUST with Trust Companies (Fifty Thousand dollars to one and then Fifty Thousand to another). This fund now amounts, July 1st, 1925, to $350,731.53. The founders of West Laurel Hill did not know who would follow them as managers and were quite aware that a man might be a first class Cemetery manager and a bad financier. So the managers were relieved of all care of the principal of the PERMANENT FUND—the interest and income being paid the Cemetery Company for the care of the Cemetery.
 

The Permanent Fund for any lot is not added to the selling price but is paid by the Cemetery Company itself as agreed in its deed to the first lot purchaser and with all purchasers after him. As you can see the Permanent Fund is a great source of income to a Cemetery and a little arithmetic will tell you that West Laurel Hill Cemetery with a permanent fund of $350,731.53 will receive within a year at only five percent, an income of $17,536.56 from this source alone.

Eighth. The Institution of Individual Lot Endowments and inculcation of the fact that the lot holders lot should have a fund or endowment placed IN TRUST, the income to be for the upkeep of his property—HIS lot separate from the Cemetery General Fund. In all the States of the United States there are laws against trust in perpetuity except trusts which apply to Cemeteries and the care of cemetery lots. Seeing from the early years of our Republic that the European law of primogeniture held land and money in one family, to the detriment of the general public, our laws forbade such a course and no one can will their estate beyond their grandchildren; grandchildren cannot be denied the right to do as they choose with an estate received from a grandfather—however, our wise lawmakers, seeing every man must be allowed his burial place, and having in their hearts the feeling of us all, yes! Even us Cemetery Superintendents, that the place where our family is buried should be cared for FOREVER, have so shaped our laws that a fund may be left in perpetuity for the care of a Cemetery lot. At West Laurel Hill Cemetery we assiduously cultivate the placing of an endowment (as we call it in distinction from the Cemetery Company's Fund for the Perpetual Care of the Cemetery) for the care of the lot owners' own lot; and so successful is the system that in six months of 1925 we have received as follows:

January, 13 endowments totaling    $20,477.13
February, 7 endowments totaling        3,300.00
March, 12 endowments totaling        7,750.00
April, 10 endowments totaling        2,750.00
May, 10 endowments totaling          11,200.00
June, 18 endowments totaling            7,910.00

And in 1924 there were 107 endowments totaling $59,527.75. We have now 874 endowments totaling $528,891.25 besides hundreds of endowments placed separately with Trust Companies under the Wills of lot owners. If the lot is not endowed before his decease as soon as the lot owner is buried we send the heirs or the heir whom we know best a suggestion for an endowment and follow this suggestion in a proper manner until an endowment is made or the matter fails for the time being-perhaps another burial of a son or daughter of the lot owner will awaken a grandson or granddaughter to create the fund. The endowment when received is placed IN TRUST with the other endowments, all the endowments being lumped into one fund. When interest is paid, the proportional interest due each endowment is placed to its credit in the endowment ledger and each year a bill is rendered against each endowment just as our bills are rendered to our living customers. The West Laurel Hill Cemetery Company and the West Laurel Hill Cemetery Company TRUSTEE FOR ENDOWMENTS are two separate and distinct persons. The Bank account of the endowment income is, of course, a separate and distinct bank account from the Cemetery Company Bank Account. I cannot say too much in regard to ENDOWMENTS as a source of perpetual income to a Cemetery as lifting off the Cemetery Funds the care of lots and steadily producing income from the profit in doing the work required by the ENDOWMENT.

 
Ninth. Burial Charges:
(a) Receiving Tomb Charges
(b) Rental of Special Mausoleums
(c) Charges for digging graves and usual attention at funeral
(d) Charges for special grave structures
(e) Charges for grave and dirt pile decorations
(f) Charges for use of tent
(g) Removal charges

(a) Receiving Tomb charges after deducting cost of entrance of body and interest on the investment, upkeep and cleaning are not much of a source of income but the Receiving Tomb at West Laurel Hill Cemetery is, nevertheless, a great source of income. Family reasons often make it proper that the final interment should be delayed; for such eases the Receiving Tomb offers a temporary resting place and the Receiving Tomb is a feeder for sales.

(b) In 1911 the West Hill Cemetery Company built three Mausoleums for rent at a cost of $3,000.00 and from the time they were ready for occupancy they have never been vacant, except one at a time for a month; the rental charge is at the rate of $25.00 a month for each Mausoleum, being an income of $900.00 a year on an investment of $3,000.00. In 1921 we built three more of much better quality at $35.00 per month each and they are never vacant—indeed we have had a waiting list—an exchange from the Receiving Tomb being made to a Mausoleum as soon as possible. The construction at these Mausoleums was brought about because a prospective customer wanted to rent nine crypts in the Receiving Tomb so that there might not be anyone near his wife—but the Cemetery Company could not grant this request fearing the crypts might be needed.

(c) The charges for digging graves and usual attendance at funerals are a source of small revenue at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, far smaller on analysts than lot holders suppose—the margin of profit is often a loss as the ground at West Laurel Hill is often stony and men frequently work all night. However, it would seem absurd' not to mention these charges, but in my Cemetery we often write the profit on the ice.

(d) Grave structures as brick graves, whether enameled brick or plain red brick, concrete and brick and all the various structures, including concrete tombs or over boxes, all have a profit for the Cemetery.

(e) Charges for graves and dirt pile decorations in the many and various forms used throughout the country are all sources of profit.

(f) Some cemeteries charge for the use of tent and chairs. West Laurel Hill Cemetery does not charge for a tent; however, a tent is erected without charge in very inclement weather but never for clear winter weather or high wind.

(g) Removal charges might be included under the digging of a grave except that the profit on removal charges is greater per removal than the profit from a grave at the time of a funeral.

Tenth. Income from Construction of Foundations and Work Connected Therewith. In West Laurel Hill Cemetery all excavation and all foundations and exterior walls of vaults below the ground level are done by the Cemetery Company—all foundations are eight feet deep—the depth of a grave—and may of course, be deeper. There is a profit from this work, the percentage varying with the size of the work.

Eleventh. Greenhouse Work:
(a) Bouquets, cut flowers, floral designs
(b) Christmas designs and decorations, Easter and Memorial Day floral requirements
(c) Special yearly care of lots
(d) Sodding and grading
(e) Grave planting
(f) Flower beds
(g) Special trees
(h) Talking up endowments

All the above items at West Laurel Hill Cemetery come under the greenhouse. The greenhouse salesroom and the office are under one roof and it is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends—they lead up to each other. Special yearly care of lots is a heavy item at West Laurel Hill Cemetery; grave planting is a heavy item and flower beds also are an item of profit and the greenhouse work leads up to that important item of which I have spoken before.

Twelfth. Endowments: If I am placing emphasis on endowment of lots—special trust funds whose income is only to be used for the designated lot—it is because, like interest, it is working all the time. The income will continue long after we are dead and not only lift the expense of caring for that lot from the Cemetery, but will give a profit year after year. The solicitation for endowments is going on all the time at West Laurel Hill Cemetery even to the great grandchildren of the original lot holder. The money from a sale soon disappears but the income from an endowment will go on and on.

Gone are the living, but the dead remain
And not neglected, for a hand unseen
Scattering bounty like a summer rain
Still keeps their graves and their remembrance green.
Longfellow.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 39th Annual Convention
Chicago, Illinois
August 24, 25, 26 and 27, 1925

When we grow old and decrepit, honors are thrust upon us many times unsought, honors that in our younger days we coveted and for which we would have given a right arm or something else as desirable. Twenty years ago to address this honorable body was my greatest wish. I was then trying to put over an idea that I thought all cemeteries should be interested in.

But time has tempered my enthusiasm. I find that no organization, institution or collection of men altogether, ever at any time, wish or are interested in the same things. Generally you are lucky if you can command a majority on any subject.

However, sometime in 1912 I conceived the idea of establishing a magazine exclusively for cemeteries; a periodical whose sole interest would be the cemetery; to teach cemeteries better business methods, help them to keep better records, and to eliminate, as far as possible, what I thought was a mistake—the mutually owned cemetery with its generally slip shod methods.

I have always believed that a cemetery was a business enterprise, not a philanthropic institution. Mutually owned companies paying no profit were either a great many times the source of graft if successful, or an expense to some public spirited citizens if unsuccessful. Of course, this was not always true.

I know a great many very wonderful cemeteries maintained on the mutual plan and believe two or three of the very finest cemeteries in the United States are mutual companies, conducted on a strictly honest basis with the best of business judgment.

It was my ambition, however, to see the private corporation established for profit—legitimate profit—take over the cemeteries of the country and conduct them on a business basis, which would have meant beautiful cemeteries properly endowed, efficient and courteous in their services. Profit sharing corporations long ago learned that prosperity and profits accrued only to those who practice such virtues.

Had that been accomplished, I believe that today the majority of our cemeteries would have Community Mausoleums. It is a part of the service that, in my mind, should be furnished by cemeteries.

I am not going back over a lot of ancient history or Mausoleums; all of you know that the name was derived from the tomb erected for King Mausolus, which has long since disappeared. The great pyramids of Egypt were undoubtedly Mausoleums. The early Christians of note were buried in tombs or Mausoleums, many of which, two thousand years later, are still standing. The Chinese and the East Indians built Mausoleums for their noted men and women and some of them built of teakwood ten centuries ago are still standing.

My history, I think records that more than five hundred years after the birth of Christ, the Christians had not practiced ground burial. Some Roman Emperor, I am not sure which—Constantine, I believe—started the practice by ordering that his own body when life had passed should be buried in the ground. Then for several centuries, ground burial was quite generally practiced throughout Europe, though the princes, potentates and great men generally were interred in tombs. For many centuries the noted of England have hoped and wished for the great honor of being entombed in the famous Abbye of Westminster.

The Catacombs being under ground were still tomb and I believed it was estimated more than seven million bodies were placed there. These Catacombs are one of the wonders of the Old World, and are mute reminders that the Christians of the early Romans preferred tombs.

In this country our pioneers had about all they could do to provide for the living, therefore the dead should be cared for in the simplest and most inexpensive way, which was the ground. Three hundred years of practice have hallowed and indorsed this method to many people.

While we grow older, richer, more cultured, refined and sensitive, we wonder if the ground isn't crude, barbaric and cruel; we wonder if some plan cannot be devised that will relieve to a certain extent the anguish and sorrow we feel at parting with our loved ones on that day they cross the Great Divide. Some think cremation, and I am admitting now that cremation sounds better to me than it did twenty years ago, and I believe every cemetery should have a crematory and columbarium. I believe, though, the Mausoleum is the best answer found up to the present time.

The Community Mausoleum as we know it today, dates from a structure of about one hundred crypts erected by a man named Hood, in Ganges, Ohio, in 1907, just twenty-two years ago. It was crude, cheaply constructed and in outward appearance strongly resembled some of these Ohio and Indiana hog barns, but the idea was born. He took out patents which were un-patentable and being somewhat of an ingenious character, he fell in with some moneyed men, among them F. L. Maytag of Newton, Iowa, who financed his scheme for selling patent rights. Undoubtedly these high powered salesmen sent out to unload these patent rights on the public had much to do with the black eye given the Mausoleum in its early days. On the other hand, purchasers of these patents had to build and establish Mausoleums in order to get their money back and it is justly possible one offset the other. Without the patents few may have conceived the idea and furthermore, it would have taken much longer to develop without this artificial urge.

My own connection dates back to 1911 so that I am probably one of the oldest men in the Mausoleum business today. I have constructed seventy-five or more buildings personally, have supervised still others. The present value of these buildings is probably ten to fifteen million dollars. It is not likely that record will ever be achieved by any one man again.

In recent years I have tried to get out of the construction of Mausoleums and confine my efforts more to the two buildings I have in Pasadena and Long Beach, but for some reason I do not seem to be able to do so, as some one is constantly inveigling me into another contract to build just one more.

There have been a great many patents taken out on Mausoleums. I took out several myself, but generally they were of little actual value. The first, as I have told you, were taken out by Hood. These were thrown out on their first test in the Federal Court in Toledo, but the decision of the trial court was reversed by the appellate court, which while not establishing the patents restored them to their original status before the ruling of the Federal District Court. Mr. Maytag I think on my advice decided to let them go at that and the suit he had filed was dismissed.

After the Hood patents came the American Mausoleum patents exploited by the Hughes Granite Co. at Clyde, Ohio; then the United States Mausoleum patents, the first building I believe being constructed at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There were several other patents, among them my own, but generally all of them fell within the systems of one of these I have mentioned; that is, the various patents all are more or less covered by these three different schemes or plans, each of which has its advocates and advantages.

The Hood patents were built around the idea of preserving the body. The American Mausoleum ventilating the crypt with the idea of drying the body up as quickly as possible. The United States was a modification of the Hood plans, but I have seen that used on the coast here in connection with the American or ventilating plan.

I have generally recommended those systems that sealed their crypts as tightly as possible and worked toward preservation, although I have erected buildings of practically every type and some, notably in Indiana, where all systems were barred by law. Frankly, I can't say there is a great deal of difference though, as I stated, I prefer the non-ventilating type.

I do not believe there is a business of any kind that has been exploited by as many peculiar types of individuals as the Mausoleum. Whenever a man has proven himself a failure in everything else, he turns to the Mausoleum. He doesn't take his modesty with him, however. He immediately preens his feathers and begins to tell the world that the Mausoleum business is going to take a turn for the better with his entrance in the business.

He is going to show us old stagers how smart he is. He is going to build the most magnificent structure ever erected to the memory of man. When he gets his building built, purchasers will flock from the four corners of the earth to buy space in his superb building. He figures the rest of us are only putting about $38.98 in our construction and by adding another couple of dollars, he can have a granite building with a dome that will make our National Capitol look like the proverbial thirty cents; then, as it will cost only a little to sell, say, maybe 10 percent, and he is sure he can easily sell his crypts for from $500.00 to $1000.00 per crypt, giving him about 1000 percent profit. Well, he will show the world. He starts on a shoestring, talk a sucker into financing, buys a lot from the cemetery on faith and glib tongue and starts out.

A lot happens, het finds it costs a little more to build than he thought, there is something called overhead, the time element cuts quite a figure, money must be borrowed, interest paid, salesmen must have 15 percent instead of 10 percent and that is only one-third of the selling expense—advertising, sales manager, business managers, janitors and a thousand and one other expenses naturally attached to any business, but this bright promoter never thought of that; in fact, he didn't think it was a business. He thought it was a discovery and he the bright discoverer. Result—another black eye for the Mausoleum.

The worst of them all is the wholesaler. You cemetery men better take warning for the wholesaler is going to be among you strong. The plums that he can pick are so luscious that it is only a matter of time when he will be working throughout the land. His cheerful and wonderful message is one long sweet song to the sucker. I know what I am talking about because I have watched their operations and have built a number of their buildings.

As a matter of fact, their plan if carried out honestly and  fairly is plausible and should redound to the benefit of all and make it possible to build anywhere and finance a building without loss to anyone, but to be fair and honest is too simple and the money doesn't roll in fast enough for these gentlemen. I built one such building for about $70.00 per crypt. It was wholesaled at twice that amount and then marked up on resale to as high as $600.00 per crypt and many of them sold for that. Honest management would have brought success to the original investors. This was too much for the wholesaler; he couldn't stand to see such profits go to the men that put up the money, so he revised his plans and they are grand and glorious for him. From now on the world is his oyster and you better watch out.

The Mausoleum has one thing about it that sets it apart from all other methods of caring for the dead. It is in truth a memorial and its possibilities as such are unlimited. A magnificent structure it can be made—one that no man will be so sacrilegious as to destroy.  Ten centuries from now it may tell the story of our civilization and progress. In fact, it may be the only link between that age and this. Cemeteries, columbarium, stone monuments, all will be removed as they fall in the way of development and progress. Not so the Mausoleum. It will stand properly built throughout the ages as to a great memorial to those who have lived and died during this age. No other one thing has contributed so much to the romance of the past as the tombs of our forefathers.

What a triumph to the French who, sixty years ago, broke through the jungles of Cambodia and discovered that immense structure—Angkor Ghat!

One more point and I will conclude. The Community Mausoleum is an attempt to popularize the private tomb to make it possible for men and women of moderate means to have above ground entombment or mausoleum burial. Such people can pay from $200.00 and up, and you must recognize this fact and build accordingly. When you put unnecessary expense in your construction and run the cost up, you simply cut out the sale of the crypts that are most in demand. I do not mean to build poorly, but eliminate waste. The greatest waste I have found is in the design of the building. My friend, Frank Hogan, never forgave me for showing him where he had thrown away $30,000.00 in the layout of his building on construction, and lost $50,000.00 in space or a waste of $80,000.00. All he would have had to have done was simply shift his plan around retaining the same size corridors and chapel and practically the same exterior design.

To my mind, reinforced concrete offers the ideal construction throughout. If you have a large building you might face it with some of the harder marbles or granite. Skylights should be eliminated as far as possible, no more doors than you must have. Ventilation of the corridors is all right in Southern California but almost everywhere else ventilation should only be possible when the building is in use for services.

The foundation should be built upon a solid slab covering the entire area of your building of property reinforced concrete. I think further the building should be well or beautifully designed for it will stand a long, long time and if you have extra money, spend it on the design, though money spent on the chapel and service will pay big dividends.

Build simply but substantially. Do not paint your building as I have seen done; that will wash off and you cannot very well establish a perpetual care fund large enough to keep up such a structure. All expensive upkeep items wherever possible should be eliminated. Ornamental iron work is satisfactory in some cases, but solid bronze is better wherever it is required for doors or gates. Do not use tubing for gates or doors. Imported antique glass is better for your windows, opalescent is somewhat more popular and only about half as expensive but cuts down the light 60 to 70 percent while antique reduces it only from 10 to 25 percent. Tile roof is good, though if your design calls for flat roof, copper or lead should be used. Use high grade marble—Colorado Yule, Alabama, Vermont and some grade of Tennessee. On the coast, Italian can be used; in the middle states it is too expensive.

Larger buildings should have a musical instrument. We have in our Long Beach and Pasadena buildings very fine pipe organs, and in Long Beach a set of Deagan electrical tower chimes. The organ and chimes in Long Beach, including space for installation, represent an expenditure of $100,000.00.

The larger buildings in metropolitan districts may be furnished with draperies and comfortable furniture, but of course the smaller building should not be. Furniture and draperies in any case should be of the very best and of such construction and material that will withstand the ravages of time as much as possible.

One more thing. Unquestionably the various legislatures should be requested to pass appropriate laws for the governing of Mausoleums before the business falls into the hands of the wrong people. Only six states have legislated on the Mausoleum so far as I know—five of those were attempts of the monument dealer to stifle the Mausoleum business and the sixth one passed a law written by a lawyer who knew nothing of construction and so far as I can see, all it does is impair the permanency of Mausoleum construction and make it cost more.

One thing I noticed particularly in Mr. Eaton's address. All the great memorials he named—every one were built. It is unquestionably the works of man that appeal most to the coming ages. And all the memorials of note that attract unusual attention are buildings, buildings erected by man. There are memorials dedicated for memorial purposes that are natural and of course no human being can build any thing that will equal a natural structure. Just the same, the thrill comes to you when you come and visit these enormous buildings built as memorials.

As Mr. Eaton told you about Forest Lawn, I want to invite all of you to visit Sunnyside. It is only a short distance from the interurban station at Long Beach. We advertise Sunnyside as America's finest Mausoleum. We truly believe it is. There you can, even if in moderate circumstances, find a place in the most beautiful surroundings for above—ground entombment. There you can see the most beautiful and costliest chapel ever built for interment purposes. There you can find the only pipe organ in the world for your final interment service.

There you can find the only electrical Deagan tower chimes to remind you that even though the service is beautiful, that time is fleeting and our stay is short—the only mausoleum in the world with these chimes.

There you can look down beautiful vistas or corridors, three hundred or more feet long, but so constructed and designed that you do not feel they are anything but beautiful vistas.

There you will see the most expensive interior decorations ever put in a mausoleum. There you will find the most beautiful waiting and rest rooms for men and women. You will have elevator service.

There is a complete apartment built right in the building. The reception room and private office have been commented upon by thousands of visitors.

Sunnyside has for its slogan—"Dignified and Sacred Service" and means it.

Its furnishings throughout are of the finest materials that money could purchase. Not many of you could think it possible to spend $25,000 on interior furnishings and curtains, but that is what we have done.

Sunnyside is laid out around a proposed court or patio and when completed will hold more than 17,000 crypts and the whole will show a consistent and evident throughout plan. You can see immediately upon entering that the builders had in mind just what they wanted from the start and never deviated from their plans.

In fact, we have tried to build in a way that you would know when you entered this great structure that it was erected by a mausoleum man, as a memorial to the men and women of today who loved beauty refinement and dignity; who despised sham but loved color, harmony and the serene contentment of a beautiful home. For, after all, it is the final home—one that can be visited by sorrowing relatives and get help instead of further unhappiness.

We give, to our people a very fine vesper service every Sunday afternoon, mostly musical, though we do have a short talk by one of the Long Beach pastors during the service.

We have a very fine crematory, and the most expensively constructed Columbarium ever built.
 
In fact, we have a complete institution with 4,500 crypts, ranging in price from $200 to $5,000. The cheaper ones are so located as not to interfere with the expensive ones, and yet all so located as to bring up no unfavorable contrasts.
 

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Convention
Los Angeles, CA
September 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1929

About twelve or thirteen years ago a young man stood on a hilltop overlooking a small country cemetery of some fifty-five acres. This property had just been placed in his charge. He saw no buildings on the property. There was only a patch of lawn, with a few straggling headstones. Beyond the scant dozen acres of developed ground the hillside rose sere and brown. It was not exactly a scene of surpassing loveliness. The problem of making a notable property out of it was a serious one. It was apparent that its future commercially would not rise above its artistic and esthetic plane.

The young man who surveyed the scene, however, possessed one of those minds to which visions come. He was, as a matter of fact, a rare combination: In the highest sense an idealist, a dreamer of dreams; and at the same time, a practical, trained engineer, who could plan definitely how to make a worthy dream come true. On this historic occasion a dream did come—a vision. He saw, in one swift instant of revelation, what this tiny "God's Acre" might be made into. So real was this vision, so definitely did the philosophy by which it might be realized present itself to this practical man that that very day he put down in writing for his own private guidance, what you might call a Creed. It was a statement of his own beliefs and principles and theories.
And I think no better basis could be laid for the brief discussion which I shall attempt, than to read you this Builder's Creed—the self-instituted guide which was set up twelve years ago for Forest Lawn Memorial Park by Mr. Hubert Eaton: (which has been quoted in Mr. Eaton's address)

"This is the Builder's Dream; this is the Builder's Creed."

This was the vision. Now for the realization. It has only been achieved in part. Naturally, like the horizon, such a sweeping esthetic and spiritual concept must inevitably lift and carry the pilgrim on to bigger and better things beyond. But Forest Lawn Memorial-Park is today a property of about 200 acres. It is bounded on three sides by the everlasting hills, and protected equally from encroachment on the other by the natural situation and location.

Its employees number about 500. Its interments exceed in number those of any similar institution in the West. Its "Little Church of the Flowers," inspired by the historic church at Stoke Poges, England, to which immortality was given by the poet Gray, is the scene of hundreds of weddings each year. The Administration Building houses the executive offices, the well-patronized Flower Shop, a Museum of Antiquities. Its exterior architecture and interior decoration and arrangement are all authentically inspired by the mansion house of an English nobleman of the Sixteenth Century. Just being completed is a second church, "The Wee kirk o' the Heather," patterned after that famous little chapel in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, where Annie Laurie worshipped. The Mausoleum-Columbarium is a stately building of steel and concrete, built against the rock of the hillside in terraces, and upon the roof is now being placed a magnificent Court of Honor at one end of which will be placed a stained glass reproduction of Leonardo's "Last Supper." Surmounting Mount Forest Lawn a rugged Tower disguises its utilitarian purpose (the storage of water) by its allegorical conception and design and forms a landmark famous for miles around the property.

This is a quick sketch of Forest Lawn Memorial-Park as it has evolved since the Builder had his vision, a complete sketch except that I neglected to mention the scores of notable pieces of sculpture placed with great effectiveness about the grounds, or housed in the various buildings.
Now you might properly ask the question: Did advertising build all this? To answer it accurately would be as difficult as to answer the age old question: In the original creation, did the Egg or the Chicken come first? The fact is, the support of the public in the way of sales made possible the advertising, and the advertising helped to build the sales.
 
To most people there is something incongruous at first in the idea of a cemetery advertising far business. It is a common thing for us to be favored with "wise-cracks" and rather labored attempts at humor, when the subject comes up in ordinary conversation with the lay man. But we think we have discovered that Mr. Average Man’s heavy efforts at humor in connection with such a subject are what the psychologists call a "defense mechanism." Most people instinctively shrink from the thought or discussion of death. It seems like opening the door to morbid reflections. But it is also a fact that if death is faced courageously, accepted as a natural part of life, it begins to lose its power to terrify. Forest Lawn Memorial-Park holds boldly to the theory that a rational discussion of death and the problems which death creates for those left behind, rather than hastening one's end, operates in quite the opposite manner. We ask people to accept the unalterable fact of death, and to make wise, rational preparation for it, as they would for any other event of which they had certain foreknowledge.
 
Approaching the problem of selling a cemetery from this standpoint, the sales resistance is much more theoretical than real. It shrinks to a practical minimum indeed, when coupled with the utilitarian features of a cemetery property, you are fortunate enough to have esthetic, civic and artistic considerations on such a prodigal scale as happens to be the case with Forest Lawn.
 
Now of course what Forest Lawn is really doing is to create what is virtually a great composite memorial perpetuating not simply the memory of one individual but of all the brave souls who have gone on before us, from this community. Every owner of Forest Lawn property thus becomes a partner in this great enterprise. The fact that it has a commercial aspect in no way lessens its civic, esthetic and spiritual value to the community.
 
In fact, its commercial foundation is one of its outstanding virtues, because out of its sales is set up a perpetual fund for care and maintenance, which is a guarantee for all time to come that this area dedicated to a great purpose, shall forever remain dedicated to it, shall forever grow in grandeur and beauty, shall forever continue to evolve into a monument more and more fitting and adequate.

So this brings us to the practical problem of continuously making sales. These sales automatically group themselves, as you know, into the two classes: those made by natural exigency or "at need" and those made in advance or "before need".
 
Both classes of purchases are influenced tremendously by the good will or prestige of the institution. The sales force which is maintained devotes its efforts to the making of "before need" sales. Selections of this character naturally represent a greater volume in money than an equal number of "at need" sales.

I think I have sketched sufficiently the background of Forest Lawn to show you where advertising comes into the picture, to accomplish that which no other force could accomplish within the same time. May I remind you of an axiom very familiar to advertising men—that no business can succeed with advertising unless it would and could also succeed without it. I think that is generally true enough to set it down axiomatically. But what is implied in that axiom is this that advertising can be compared to the glassed houses of the florists, or the fertilizer and watering or the farmer, which renders success more certain and also encompasses it within reasonable time limits, as human lives and activities are measured. The "mouse trap" theory of Elbert Hubbard's, while it contains a considerable portion of truth, is yet dangerous in this modern day. Life is too short to wait for the world to beat a path to your door. If you have something worthy for the people, you must tell them if you want to sell them.

So it comes down to the question of telling. Who is going to do it? The Forest Lawn story—as I think I have sufficiently indicated—is no ordinary story. The average salesman will be able to do it but scant justice, even if the ordinary prospective buyer has the patience to listen or the intelligence to grasp quickly. Furthermore, if you have an important property, conducted on an ambitious a scale as Forest Lawn, you will not want to entrust its telling to the average sales force. If you have 50 people, you are bound to be creating at least fifty different versions of your story.

Forest Lawn boldly tells the public its story, in its own way. It uses for the purpose, practically every legitimate medium of advertising—radio, newspapers, billboards, theatre programs, direct advertising through the mail printed literature, and publicity.

Every character of Forest Lawn advertising goes through the same process of meticulous care in preparation: that is to say, no amount of time or pains is spared in the writing of copy, the preparation of art work, the arrangement of printing, so that precisely the right shade of meaning is conveyed, and so that the advertising shall always and everywhere be upon a very high literary, artistic and spiritual plane.

Radio has been found astonishingly effective in directing public attention upon the institution, and creating for it a most favorable association of ideas. A thirty-piece symphony orchestra and an ensemble of approximately sixteen singers of very high professional caliber are used one hour each week, together with a carefully written continuity. The programs are selected about two weeks in advance. Each program centers about one outstanding theme. The titles of some recent programs will give you an idea of this: Songs of the Sea—The Old Corner Book Shop—A Night in Havana—Russian Nights—A Night in the Theatres—"Chimes of Normandy"—Love Songs of the World—Evolution of the Dance—Wheels of the World—and Music of Devotion, which is the title of the Forest Lawn radio presentation to be given this Friday evening.

Practically all the music is rehearsed, and the entire program is approved by us before it is presented. The same hour and the same night each week are used, and since the advertising has now been running over the air for practically forty weeks, I think it is not too much to say that the Forest Lawn programs have become a recognized institution on the Pacific Coast. Emphasis is placed in the announcements on the cultural and esthetic features of Forest Lawn, the important works of art and notable buildings are repeatedly mentioned, and there is always an invitation to visit the Park as one of the best known places of interest in Southern California. Radio is one of the great new factors in advertising, but its technique is difficult and subtle, and offers the grandest opportunity of any medium open to the advertiser, for him to demonstrate how little he knows what the public wants. A certain well known national concern decided a few years ago to go on the air, and among their directors was a fine old gentleman who in his early youth had had it musical education. He volunteered—in fact, insisted—that he would take charge of the radio advertising. He searched the musical libraries of the new and old worlds for fine music which had never before been played. He announced that he was going to raise the standard of musical taste in America. After the company had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars it was unanimously agreed to abandon the idea of education. The fact is, that radio is a new and curious combination of art and showmanship and advertising. It is not absolutely necessary to be crazy to handle radio advertising, but you will get along better if you are!

Before we used the radio we used the newspapers, and in them presented the Forest Lawn story week after week. Copy and art were pitched upon a high plane. This newspaper advertising was widely read and commented upon. But when we began using radio we changed the character of the newspaper ads somewhat: that is, we now use the newspapers to advertise the radio programs. However, with each advertisement, there is also a straight Forest Lawn advertising message.

I think perhaps this would be as good as place as any for me to remark that the newspapers are much more effective since we have used the radio and the radio undoubtedly has a larger and more impressible audience because we use the newspapers. And this holds true of all our advertising, just as it holds true of advertising in any other field. When you use two mediums instead of one, you more than double your returns, because you increase the effectiveness of each one.

We use painted billboards, illuminated. Here we have only the briefest telegraphic message. Just now we are beginning the first of a series of symbolic messages. The one on the boards now is just a beautiful painting of the sea, no land or other objects in sight except clouds. Our copy reads "Eternal—as the sea." Then at the bottom of the board, FOREST LAWN MEMORIAL PARK IN GLENDALE. The next board no doubt will be just a painting of infinity, that is, a point far out in space, with the stars and planets suggested and again the phrase "Eternal—as the heavens." These boards are symbolical, suggestive, and carry the thought so necessary to get over, that Forest Lawn is an institution which shall endure for all time to come. Of course, there is a psychological association also, for it directs the mind, very subtly and without even appearing to do so, to the unalterable fact of earthly change but Eternal persistence of the human soul.

Though this discussion is not intended to be metaphysical or theological, we are not ashamed to say that Forest Lawn believes in eternal life, and we don't hesitate to say so in our advertising. We try to take the morbidity out of death, and the institution we advertise does not parade grief and woe and disconsolation, but typify and symbolizes in every way that ingenuity can suggest, abundant, endless and joyous life.

Right along this line, may I say that my company is at present  preparing a beautiful book which will probably be called "This Continuing Life" and in it will be quoted the best thought in prose and poetry of the whole world, bearing on immortality. The purpose of this book will be to serve as a courtesy or good will present, to patrons, without charge whatsoever, but as a subtle and delicately expressed gesture of understanding and sympathy with the bereaved. Surely it is not preaching to say that the surest and in fact, the only solace, which we can give to those left behind, is some concrete expression of our own conviction that their separation from their loved ones is out temporary.

So fast are precious objects of art from the old world being added to the already large collection in Forest Lawn, that we find it necessary quite frequently to reissue the official souvenir of the Park, called "The Chimes." This is a beautifully illustrated and printed booklet, in size 9" x 12", showing the latest and most attractive views of the grounds, buildings and statuary. As time goes on, The Chimes is growing further and further away from a commercial booklet, and tends to become more artistic and more truly a souvenir. This book is sold for a nominal price at the grounds, or is sent by mail in response to newspaper and other advertising.

Regular mailings of letter campaigns are maintained. We have tried to cover the "before need" sales story by letter but just now we are using a very short letter, with which is enclosed a simply written booklet with the sales story.

We have another booklet, called prosaically, "The Truth. About Burial Customs and Costs," and our advertising is keyed for this booklet also, which is distributed gratis. It is a plain story of the': subject, as its title indicates.

Still another booklet, which is growing more and more important as time goes on, is the Official Guide Book. This is practically a cyclopedia of all the interesting features of Forest Lawn, describing in detail the grounds, buildings, statuary and other objects of special significance, interest, or historical association. This booklet, on thin Bible stock, is in great demand by visitors.

The use of theatre programs for cemetery advertising may seem incongruous, but our experience and observation is that this is a most valuable medium. It reaches a good class of people, it profits by the very fact that it is different from any other advertising in the program, and we know from actual tests made in the theatres, that it is read perhaps more thoroughly than even our newspaper insertions.

We are fairly generous patrons of some of the higher types of class publications, such as women's clubs magazines, musical publications, etc., going to special groups. When we do use these mediums, we exercise exactly the same care in preparation that we would if we were going into the Ladies Home Journal or Vanity Fair.

Then of course, we attempt to secure all the publicity to which we are entitled by virtue of the news value of the events which occur in which Forest Lawn figures. The acquisition of new statuary or buildings makes legitimate news. At Easter Time a sunrise service is held on Mount Forest Lawn attended last year by 40,000 to 50,000 people. The Little Church of the Flowers attracts many notable weddings, which are the basis of legitimate publicity.

I should not be surprised if some of you are mentally asking the question: which advertising, medium is most profitable. I have always tried to live up to the legend that an advertising man is omniscient, but in this case I will imperil my reputation, if any, by saying that I do not know. I think I am safe in saying that, taken all together, they are profitable. My recommendation to any cemetery is that if they are using practically all media, and the sum total of results is pretty satisfactory, leave well enough alone. It is entirely probable that some of those media are pulling only 50 percent, some 90 percent, some 100 percent, and maybe others 200 percent. If it was my money I wouldn't care. I have seen too many instances where it was attempted to get exactly 100 percent out of each and every cog in the wheel. Don't look for perfection in every piece of advertising, any more than you do in every individual in a given group. We ought to be happy if the general level of the group is pretty high, in a world which is still able only to approximate perfection in any line of effort.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Convention
Los Angeles, CA
September 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1929

Many speeches, talks, and sessions such as this one are started with a definition from Webster's dictionary. When asked to serve on the faculty of this Counselor's Training Course, I became nervous when I was referred to as an expert. I looked up the word. In the dictionary "ex" comes directly from Latin and means "from" and "spurt" is defined as a "drip under pressure" so that now I feel right at home.

Aids in developing good habits for assured success. The key words in the title of this session are "Success" and Assured". Success cannot be defined by Webster's dictionary or Encyclopedia Britannia or any other book. The reason is simple.  You have your own definition of success because you have your own goals. Success is the "degree or measure of attaining one's desired end", according to Webster. Yet this is not enough - because even before a goal is attained others are set and life becomes a continual flow rather than starting and stopping at one successive goal after another.

The other key word is “assured”.  No one on this green earth can "assure" you of success. If I had this ability, I would rent the largest office in Philadelphia and have three floors reserved just for the waiting room. People would come from all over the world - if I could assure success, or could just pick out the individuals who would succeed. Yet there is one individual who can do this for you. You shave him every morning and brush his teeth every night. That hint should be enough.  You are your own assurance of success.

To make people well, the medical student studies people who are sick, injured or diseased.  To understand mentally sound individuals the psychologist studies the mentally abnormal and mentally deficient, to develop into a successful cemetery counselor we should study the ones who have failed - find out why they failed -and do the opposite. We should make a habit of doing right what the failure has done wrong. We must assume that his failure had the ability and aptitude.

The prime cause of an individual not succeeding in this business is his failure to get leads. The habit of prospecting is of the utmost importance in developing into a successful counselor. Without prospects, a salesman is unemployed. Without enough prospects, the best presentation is of no value. Having more than enough prospects is impossible. Simply possessing prospects generates excitement - it makes us anxious to get into the field. It gives us confidence. The hope that radiates from an unsold prospects card is enough to drive us into making that "one more call". Getting prospects has been covered this morning, covered well, yet I am so convinced that getting and having prospects is so important that it cannot be emphasized too much. Prospecting is the one phase of selling that appeal least to most salesmen. Getting prospect should be such a habit, such an integral part of our lives that we should feel like sinners if we fail to prospect every working day. The necessity of having prospects in quantity is the most widely known secret in the sales field. It is the key to selling success. It installs confidence, generates enthusiasm, breeds courage, and causes determination and persistence. The salesman should prospect every day - the successful one does.

Another quality that causes failure is the lack of confidence.

A new salesman overcomes this lack of confidence in his ability with his enthusiasm to learn.  Knowledge as it is stored up, strengthens confidence. A new salesman must remember during his first calls that although he has much to learn and is far from being an expert, compared to the prospect that he is talking to, he is authority and knows much more about the cemetery business than the prospect does. I will bet there is not a salesman here that has not driven past a prospect's door without stopping or walked up to it without knocking.  I have.  Until the thought struck me that I was going into their home for their benefit, not mine.  The few dollars I make on any sale are spent in a short time, but their benefits are forever.  Form the habit of service.  This idea alone, serving others, will change your concept of the door – it will become a portal, to enter to serve, and not a barrier with a lock.

Another characteristic of the failure is his inability to generate his own energy – his lack of inner drive.  There is only one thing worse than seeing a man with ability and no drive and that is the pitiful individual with drive and no ability.  Form the habit of making goals – ultimate goals that require years are important – but make short term goals also.  Form the habit of reminding yourself of them.  Write them down.  Tape them to the mirror where you shave.  Carry them with you.  Look at them often.  Make your specific goals a part of your routine thought and not only will the energy to attain them be yours but also the joy of attaining them will be yours.

Many individuals who fail as salesmen lack conviction and dedication of purpose.  Others are so mild mannered that they cannot communicate their beliefs forcefully.  They seem to lack “spine” or “guts”.  They lack what I have heard called the “tiger instinct”.  It does have the qualities of instinct in that they are facets that are basic to some personalities and cannot be changed easily.

Some failures cannot bear up to the “no” answers that every salesman must get.  Form the habit of listening to them without becoming discouraged.  It takes one hundred and seventy-eight “no’s” to make a sale.  Let me illustrate.  It takes one hundred sixty canvass calls to produce sixteen suspects.  That means 144 “no” suspects doors.  If you start with sixteen prospects in the evening, 8 will not be home, 4 more will not have the entire buying unit present, 2 will own elsewhere and two stories will result.  In most presentations we must listen to at least ten rejections before we close so that is 20 or a total of 178 rejections.  It takes an individual with ability to stand rejection and still remain pleasantly persistent.  It takes a man with “tiger instinct”.

All successful men have three characteristics: 1) Ability, 2) Confidence, 3) Determination and 4) persistence. A fifth quality usually is present, a genuine love of what they are doing. A love that has developed because of an inner satisfaction that seems to go beyond financial satisfaction. Do not be afraid to fall in love with your chosen profession.

Another habit that should be continually cultivated is the habit of finding an easier better way. Always strive to become more efficient.

Form the habit of making calls every evening of the week and on Saturday. The golden hours are few - from 6 to 9, five nights a week, is only fifteen effective evening selling hours. It is obvious that Friday is becoming more a part of the weekend - people shop or seek amusement or just jam the streets with their cars, so it seems.

It is equally as obvious that many people are home - just as many sales can be made Friday evening as any other night. Do not try to be successful on only four nights a week.

Not only form the habit of working Friday evening but also search for the daytime presentations. There are countless opportunities to sell during the day. One month we closed a third of our sales before 5 o'clock in the evening - this releases that much more time to call on other people during the Golden Hours.

Another way to increase your efficiency is after calling on a prospect, spend two more minutes to quality the neighbors. It takes only a brief time, yet will bring you many, sales during a year – try it, what can you lose?

The responsibility is really yours.  Others can point the way but you must do the travelling.  You are your own best friend or your own worst enemy.  The decision is always yours.

The key words in the title of this session are SUCCESS and ASSURED. SUCCESS cannot be defined in a dictionary or encyclopedia or any other book. The reason is simple.... you have your own definition of SUCCESS you have your own goals. SUCCESS is the "degree or measure of attaining one's desired end", yet this is not enough.... because even before a goal is attained, others are set and life becomes a continual flow rather than starting and stopping at one successive goal after another.

The other key word is ASSURED.... No one can "ASSURE" you of SUCCESS – the reason being no one can do it for you. If you are willing to pay the price to learn all there is about the job and work toward that goal, you are your own assurance of SUCCESS.

I am going to give you my opinion of what I think are some good habits that are successful in the cemetery business as a Memorial Counselor. Let's just start with the beginning of our day:

1. A salesman has to get in the habit of rising early in the morning, getting himself organized to report to the office and turn in his sales and do anything he has to do so he will be ready to go prospecting.... not stay in bed until the mood moves him to get up and not have time to get organized and say it's too late to go now, will go tomorrow.

2. Planning your day's work when you get to the office, just what you are going to do that day will help you get more out of the hours you work... you will make every minute count as you have set up all things you want to accomplish that day, even personal things that are to be done for the family which in my book have to be done before 5PM, not afterwards unless it is after 10 o' clock that night.

3. The habit of prospecting is of utmost importance in being a successful counselor. By this I mean out in the field, going door to door at least for 2 hours each morning depending on the time of year....during the summer 9 to 11 AM ... during the winter months 10 AM to 12 noon. Without enough prospects, the best presentation is of little value. You have to continue prospecting every day to assure yourself of successful selling. Somehow I suppose it is the anticipation of returning to present our program to a family that gets a salesman out in the field in the evening.

4. To make daytime presentations to make that extra sale or bonus sales it will have to begin when you are prospecting. It is necessary to know if they are retired people or a man who works shift work and what his day off is. Anytime you wait to see these families during the Golden Hours from 5 to 9 PM instead of some other part of the day, your time is not being used wisely.

5. Working 5 nights a week and making Saturday calls is a habit that will lead to only one thing.... more presentations being given and naturally resulting in more sales being made. If you just work 5 days a week and 4 hours a night, this would be only 20 selling hours a week, which totals up to a very few hours for a week's work. Yet, I hear a lot of salesmen say Friday is becoming more a part of the weekend - people are shopping - going out of town - and hundreds of other reasons they are not at home.  You know and I know that everybody doesn't leave home at the same time any day of the week. Just because a salesman made a few calls one Friday evening and did not find his particular prospects home, it was a poor night to make calls. All this man is doing is looking for an excuse not to work Fridays. My recommendation is that Friday is as good as any night of the week.

6. Calling into the office during the day when you are out working is a good idea, as someone that you previously presented may want to meet you at the park, or an owner would like to come to see his lot or has a lead for you.

7. Starting out early in making your evening calls can oftentimes get you that extra sale by making 2 presentations instead of one. I feel a man should start making his calls as soon after 5 PM as possible and make his last call 8:45 to 9:00 PM to get in at least 2 presentations an evening. When a man makes excuses this is too early or it is too late to make calls, pretty soon he reaches a point where there is no time that is right time for making calls. It all depends on you, how successful you want to be.

8. Write down prospects names you are going to call on in the evening in the rotation that you plan to see them. This can be a big time saver ... knowing whom you are going to call on first, second, etc. These prospects should be as close to one another as possible. A man should have at least 20 prospects to see to assure himself of finding at least 2 families to present, or no less than one presentation before giving up making calls that night.

9. Delivering your contracts promptly lets the family know we have a most efficient operation.... the new owner may have a question to ask as there might be something they did not quite understand which will make your sale more secure.... also, they have had time to think of someone else they would like to refer. These are excellent leads to call on.

10. Make presentation so simple and clear that even a 14 year old child can understand what you are saying. When people do not understand what you are trying to explain to them or because you take certain things for granted, skip over something you think is unimportant or do not talk loud enough, they are not going to buy from you.

11. Be enthusiastic about your job, your park, while you are making your presentation, because this will excite your prospects into becoming enthused. Your presentation has to move along accordingly. A slow talking individual who is dragging his presentation will cause loss of interest of the prospect and also the loss of the sale in most cases.

12. Let each presentation teach you a lesson so you will not make the same mistake twice. You can sometime analyze your presentation, what you said or didn't say or forgot to do and many other things... and most of all why you did not close the sale. This kind of education comes high. I do not believe too many of us in this room today would reach down in our pocket and payout cash money for this education, but that's exactly what you are doing when you miss a high percentage of your presentations. It's pretty expensive, so at least get something out of it so it won't be a total loss.

13. Asking for referrals after each sale is a most profitable habit for Success.  It takes such a short time to ask the family for the names of relatives, their friends, neighbors and fellow workers. It will take a little encouraging and suggesting to them to start the ball rolling. Some families will give you from 3 to 10 leads which will keep you busy getting out to see them, but don't take off in all directions of the city wait until you have several prospects in a general area.

14. Always follow through on whatever promise you may have made to the family you sold, whatever it may be... information on someone's burial lot who is related to them, the gift you promised if you sold one of their referrals, or any other important matter. This builds confidence with your families and will get more sales for you in the future.

15. Show each family your appreciation of their becoming a new property owner in your park. Congratulate them for making this wise decision together. This will leave an impression with them of your sincere interest in your job and being of service to them. Be sincere when you say this ... not just go through the motions. This word will be passed along to others and will result in future sales.

16. When driving through your park and you see a family wandering around trying to locate someone's burial place or lot, stop your car, go over and introduce yourself, ask if you may assist them in anyway or help them. It is amazing how many times this little gesture will result in a sale. They may be out of town visitors or some member of the family who lives here locally that does not own. This can always be learned by asking a few questions or becoming a little better acquainted with them. This can become a habit as easily as driving out the front gate.

17. Work historical records on the burials held in your park to supplement your prospect list... the nearest of kin of the deceased, his pallbearers and friends who attended the services. The need for burial property has been brought very close to these people and, if they are non-owners, they make very good families to call on. This should be done in three or four weeks after the burial.

18. Study and learn everything you can about your park, that you might become more proficient in your job as a memorial counselor. The more knowledge you have about your park and services and what is available for sale, the better position you will be in to answer questions and also make sales, because you keep up to date with what is going on.

19. Be sure you make all sales meetings. Something might be brought up of great importance in closing a sale by one of your fellow workers that could close that extra sale for you.... also, by not being there you might miss a lead that is handed out that could result in 5 or 6 sales, besides getting more educated on how to do a better job.

20. Try to attend funeral services of your deceased property owners if possible. Many a family comes direct to the cemetery, and not to the funeral home and by being at the graveside you can visit with these families and ask them in what part of our park they own to get the ball rolling, and by visiting with them until the service arrives, you have all the information you want if they are good prospects or not.  It does not hurt anything to allow your property owners to see you attending the services that you are a permanent man with the cemetery and still around. Later on when everything settles down to normal, they may have the need for additional space or want you to see some friend of theirs that has just seen your cemetery for the first time.

21. Always dress neatly and, weather permitting, in a suit. You will never know whom you will meet. Sport clothes and sport shirts are not suited to this business - you are looked upon as someone in the ministry or other profession. You would feel rather out of place if you came to the office and found out one of your owners was being buried and you were wearing sport clothes. Being a good dresser is a good habit and leaves an impression of success.

22. Having a goal to work toward, which was covered earlier today, is a MUST to attain SUCCESS. A goal should be written down where you can see it every day as a reminder, whether for a short duration, a year or even years, to see if you are on schedule or behind schedule, or what you have to do to meet it. Make goals a part of your every day life, for the joy of attaining them will all be yours. This will give you the drive to carry you over the top in whatever you undertake.

23. Willingness to work long hours or pay the price for success can only come from you the salesman - a man who is a late starter and works only 6 or 7 hours a day will never become a great success. The successful man is one who does not worry about the hours he works or how long he works. If you will check into the lives of most successful business men you will find they put in more hours than anyone else.

24. Duplication of one's self to his profession as a memorial counselor that he truly wants to go out and render a service to the family he calls on, as so few families really don't know how to begin or what to do or even given very much thought to arranging for burial property before need .... Many do not know it can be arranged for before need. I would not say this is a habit, but it will certainly help you toward that goal of assured SUCCESS.

I suppose there are some aids and habits to help a salesman to be successful other than the ones I have covered here, but I will guarantee you one thing.... if you will just take these 24 steps you will be on the stairway leading to the top in your organization. The responsibility is yours only. Someone else can point the way in the right direction, but you must do the walking. You are either your best friend or your own worst enemy. No one can make this decision for you.... it is yours to decide.

From the publication:
“Collected Sales Management Speeches”
NAC
Compiled throughout the 1960s and early 1970s

Developed in 1998 by the Government and Legal Affairs Task Force of the
International Cemetery and Funeral Association
 

BACKGROUND

Preneed sellers of funeral and cemetery merchandise and services and interment rights have the right to disseminate truthful information about these items through print and electronic advertising, direct mail, telemarketing, and other lawful forms of communication. Consumers should be protected from fraudulent or misleading solicitation techniques. However, restrictions on truthful solicitation can inhibit competition, making it difficult for consumers to comparison shop and learn about products, services, and pricing. To effectively reconcile consumer and business interests, laws should target deceptive and abusive sales practices without unfairly encroaching on commercial free speech or unreasonably encumbering the activities of legitimate businesses.

However, there exist certain instances in which the solicitation of funeral and cemetery merchandise and services and interment rights should be prohibited due to the disadvantaged mental or physical state of the consumer or his/her emotional vulnerability.

PRINCIPLES

1. Preneed solicitation should be permitted with regulatory safeguards against fraudulent claims and untruthful representations.
    
2. No seller of preneed merchandise or services or interment rights should knowingly contact a person where death is impending or any patient in a hospital, hospice, convalescent or nursing home, rest home, charitable home for the aged, infirmary, immediate care facility for the mentally retarded, or other health care facility, for the purpose of soliciting or inducing such patient to enter into a prepaid contract unless the seller has received a request from the patient, a family member, or the patient's legal representative to do so prior to the contact.

The various reasons or influences which tend to effect sales are so numerous; one could hardly estimate what would be the advantage, or what would be an objection to the selection of a burial lot.

However from my experience, which has been gathered in one of Philadelphia's many cemeteries (WEST LAUREL HILL,) suggested the thought from which I prepared this paper.

When dealing with the subject of sales, I divide the question into two parts: first, by careful consideration, all things that might affect the sale (are noted), second, in order to produce the desired effect, suggestions as offered (objections being noted) are used to great advantage during the progress of the sale.

The things that affect a sale are so many, that a brief study of the first part might be of great assistance; therefore, let us start with advertising. In many instances, we print a great deal about ourselves, mentioning the things we know to be of advantage to the purchaser, showing pictures here and there, laying particular stress on our location, citing our guarantee as to permanency, setting forth our security from encroachment and proximity to a growing community, refer to the provisions which we have made to protect them in the future when families are extinct, and sales (our main source of income) have ceased. All of which are excellent as considerations and should be given a great deal of thought, especially where, those provided for might remain undisturbed which should greatly affect the decision.

Again, we are given considerable advertising through discourse, indulged in by those who have attended funerals; visitors, or those of our lot holders who have been bereft of a loved one, and in this instance it would be hard to estimate the effect of such advertising; therefore I am inclined to think that the latter is the most effective.

Hence, a great effort should at all times, be made to please your lot holders, show them attention, treat them with courtesy, display interest whether it is when they are commending or complaining, remembering that they are interested in the cemetery; representing those dear to them whom they have left in your keeping. In showing such an attitude we get them to share our burden, which incidentally is that of maintaining appearance, preserving and adding to the pictures which we publish and above all keep up their interest in these sacred reserves.

Consequently, whatever influence might have brought you the possible business, let me say that I take up the subdivisions of' the topic, considering that I am about to deal with the prospective purchaser.

First of all, the inquiry, then the introduction which should, through observation help you. In this instance, I refer to whether the inquirer is considering the matter from necessity or prudence, which can be easily determined; but the phases of progress, when selling, differ with each case. Hence, it would be futile to set any rule to follow as a course to pursue; it is hard to suggest what to say; by inquiry you can easily as certain through engaging your prospective purchaser in a little preliminary conversation; the requirements, such as the number to be buried, which I might call the provision.

And then the purpose here we discuss the style or mode and from these facts you easily glide on into the formative state of the subject. At times I consider it a help to acquaint your prospector with what might be termed, the advantages; quoting a price in some location, keenly observing the interest of your inquirer and at this moment you proceed to the location of your conception.

Your philosophy will suggest your course of conversation, be considerate in your reasoning, sincere in your arguments and express such thoughtfulness in your suggestions that will establish confidence.

Of times, it is well to proceed by defining the lot, referring to some surrounding, take up some topic which will interest your purchaser to the degree of comment; this will enable you to determine your next course and by comparison you learn the effect of your suggestion; once having gamed the confidence of the person buying you are in a fair way to effect a sale; always using your best endeavors to satisfy. As we all know, a satisfied lot holder is a good advertiser.

When effecting sales bring to your prospector’s notice your rules and regulations, governing the particular location; it is well to acquaint them with such at this time. Human nature is most peculiar and usually hypersensitive during grief, and the impressions made are generally lasting.

In mentioning the subject of rules, I want to say that in most cases they are considered restrictions rather than privileges and it is best to inform the purchasers as to just what they are allowed to do. Usually they have some vague idea of how they propose to improve their lot, so don't overlook the fact when using your best endeavors to satisfy, make such suggestions which might conform to their ideas; the opportunity to develop new ideas and modes presents great possibilities.

There are so many things to satisfy when selling, that I have almost always found that the purse or amount involved was the primary factor and where this element predominates you have little opportunity to practice what is commonly termed "Salesmanship." Therefore when catering to one's pride we have greater leeway, by careful thought and suggestion, much can be accomplished when shaping the mind and at this period we reach the psychological aspect of the sale.

As the thread of the principles common to all selling runs through the sale we find it possible to discern the influences which tend to effect it, the wisdom of your method becomes apparent, consequently the understanding which you have at the beginning is an invaluable guide, because as I have shown, with your knowledge of the cemetery and interest in your assignment you achieve success.

Therefore in conclusion I will take advantage of this opportunity and thank my preceptors for their tolerance, also my associates and our manager who at an early date decided to try and develop me as a salesman and who made it possible for me to become of some value to the company with which I am associated today.

From the publication:
“AACS - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Convention held at Cincinnati, OH"
September 24, 25 and 26, 1919

I have thirty minutes allotted to a subject I think you loyal people who have remained would like to use up probably an hour of time on. As you probably know, the 35 mm. three-dimensional cameras made in America are only two in number, and they are both made here in Milwaukee.

I am going to try to cover briefly what I think you brothers and sisters in the cemetery field would like to know about three-dimensional photography. I believe the first two cemeteries in the United States to use stereo slides were Wisconsin Memorial and our Arlington Cemetery. I acquired the twelfth camera made in February of 1947. I carried it with me to California for the sales conference. On my return from there, Howard Ott, my traveling companion, immediately went into the use of stereo, and we have used it at Arlington continuously since that time also.

Now I stole a little of Howard's thunder and brought his sales manager before you to briefly give you the highlights on the use of the stereo slide in selling. I also have my sales counselor here, and following their talk with you, the genius that created both of these three-dimensional cameras, Mr. Currie, will talk to you on the technical side, so if you are going to have any technical questions, anything scientific or otherwise pertaining to this type of photography, hold the questions for Mr. Currie, because heaven knows I couldn't answer anything technical.

One thing I want to mention, other than for the selling of your property, keep one thought in mind, and that is the advantage of a progress record. We all are continually improving our properties, and you will get great satisfaction in taking those before and after shots. That applies to the property, the office and other buildings, and you would be surprised if you are creating a. custom¬ built setting for some family, a deluxe lot or something of that type, if you take a shot of that spot before and then when it is landscaped or completed with whatever memorials, etc., go on it, take a further shot. I don't claim you should try to take sufficient shots so you can pass them out freely to the family, but I have in my case many shots of that type. The family have seen them, they know of their existence, and many times bring people out for the express purpose of seeing what the plot looked like before and what it looks like now.

At this time I call on Mr. Rice, sales manager of Wisconsin Memorial Park.
Mr. Rice! (APPLAUSE)

MR. RICE: Thank you, Mr. Pett. Ladies and gentlemen, we have been using this stereo reel for the most part to sell the interview. You know people don't like to talk to salesmen. I have been hearing that; we all know that, and I just heard Mr. Godfrey say when their salesman comes to the door, and we all do the same thing more or less, we say, "May I step in" and the gentleman lets us in. You know up here in Wisconsin from now on we are going to be wearing topcoats and overcoats. We've got our sales kit way in the back somewhere, so the minute we get inside that door the sales kit goes down, but this comes out fast. "Wisconsin Memorial off West Capital Drive," and he's looking at a picture. Now we are not there to sell a thing. We are there to show him pictures. The wives are out in the kitchen or they're watching television; we all run into that, of course, and until colored television comes out we have got a better program than Milton Berle, so we snap that in front of his eyes and he's looking at a picture and it's beautiful.

If you people haven't seen it, you're going to see the hottest thing in three¬ dimensional, so we show him about three of these and he's convinced that he never saw anything like that before. You should see it when children are around. Oh boy, they come up and say, "What's that," and enthusiastic! They have got all the enthusiasm that your sales force needs, so we show it to the children for a minute or two and then we say, "Now if you will just wait a minutes, you can look at all these pictures."

By that time the man is curious enough and he will call his wife in from the kitchen or away from the television set or whatever she may be doing, to come in to look at these slides. Just show two or three, enough to arouse his curiosity. They sit down relaxed and look at pictures. The sales kit is off on the side; haven't had it out yet, and you are in there pitching.

Now we used this for the last three years and I will guarantee it will get interviews. It will. Selling your interview is tough, we all know that, but it is fast, it is snappy, it is not cumbersome; it is adjusted for everybody's eyes - ¬nine out of ten. If a gentleman comes up to us who has glasses on, he can adjust it very simply, but for nine out of ten people we know what the proper adjust¬ment is. It just takes a second and you have something in front of him. Any questions about the interview?

MR. ARTHUR PETT: Calling on my associate, Mr. Walters! I am taking a little unfair advantage of Paul. My sales manager, who was with me when we started using stereos, was called to the Navy Thursday morning, so Paul will give you the experience he's had in the few short months that he has been with Arlington.

Now there is one thing I want to mention. When Howard Ott went into stereos, he engaged a professional photographer to come out and photograph the shots that he wished his men to carry, and if my memory serves me right, to equip his sales staff, cost Mr. Ott something like $1,200.

CHAIRMAN OTT: $2,200, $10 a picture.

MR. ARTHUR PETT: For you folks who have been using a 35 Kodachrome slide, you can project one frame of a stereo with that same machine. There are others that are coming into the market, stereo projectors. You can take your own pictures and eliminate that great expense.

At this time I am going to ask Paul Walters to say a few words. (APPLAUSE) MR. PAUL

WALTERS: It's very nice to be next to the last speaker here. I just got on the line. I think everything I intended to talk about during the conven¬tion everybody else brought a little of it up, so I am just about ruined here.

I came with Mr. Pett in February of this year and had never used a viewer before. I found that in February and March we do have quite a lot of snow and people are not enthused about coming out to the property, but everybody wants to see a good picture, especially at night, because that is when most of our selling is done. When you take the viewer into the home, when you press that button that brings everything to life; it won't sell the property for you, but it will do a lot of good and help you.

We all know there is nothing that will take the place of color. Everything has color in it, even the whitest rose that God ever made has a little blue in it; that is what makes it white. Life magazine, Life and Look magazines, let's put it that way, have proved that people like to look at pictures, although most of their pictures are in black and white, but if you ever notice on the back page some very large advertisers spent a great deal of money for that colored advertising because people will read it, they know.

We will go back to the artist of years ago, the famous artists, and even today there is one color that an artist never uses and that is black, because black is opaque; you cannot see through it. There is no depth to it, so therefore I can't see why when we move in a home and take black and white pictures along we expect them to be a success, but I can see why we should take colored pic¬tures of the property we are trying to sell. I would like to say this to you men who are carrying in your kits pictures of a dream; I would go to my boss and ask him for some natural photographs of the property he is trying to sell. If he says "No," take an artist's picture; go out with your kit prepared with an artificial picture dolled up to look beautiful; if a man couldn't give me a picture of the grounds, get away from him.

I think the oldest thing known to man is color. That is the reason people like it. I remember when I was a child and my mother had one of these stereoscopes, I think you call them, and I would see these beautiful pictures come to life. That is practically the same as what we have today, only it is up-to-date.

I know, gentlemen, if you have the opportunity, especially in the winter time, to take this viewer into the home, it will do forty per cent of your selling for you. Thank you! (APPLAUSE)

MR. ARTHUR PETT: At this time with a great deal of pleasure I am going to present to you the creator of our American three-dimensional camera, Mr. James Currie.

MR. JAMES CURRIE: I guess there is a tendency in every salesman to exaggerate a little bit. I am not the creator of all of the stereo cameras made in the United States, but I had a part in the design, and of course this one is my own product. One thing I think that everyone who has spoken so far has failed to think of and one that I am sure is of importance to you is this: That when a person has that viewer placed before his eyes and looks at the picture, he is instantly transported both in time and space-he is transported in mind to the position in which the camera stood at the time the picture was taken and back to that time, and nothing is lost except motion.

I make no excuses for that statement. All the dimensions are preserved except the theoretical fourth dimension, and we are not interested in that. Color is preserved, everything but motion. There is no question about that fact, so that you, as cemetery men, primarily interested in this case in sales, actually move your prospect from the position in which he stands or sits to the position in which the camera stood at the time of the taking of the picture. He loses nothing-size, time, color, everything is faithfully reproduced.

Three-dimensional cameras are not new. Stereo pictures were taken of the Civil War and of President Lincoln.

My primary purpose is to answer questions you may want to put. Has anyone a question?

QUESTION: Have they developed it to the point where you get satisfactory duplicates of your original films?

MR. JAMES CURRIE: I have heard that some people are making duplicates which are considered to be satisfactory, but as far as I am concerned, they are not very good. They are perfectly satisfactory if you have no originals to compare them with. If a salesman had a kit comprised entirely of duplicates and the prospect whom he was interviewing had never seen anything else, he would be amazed and delighted with the results. If you have them mixed, the result is not satisfactory because the originals are so far superior. Is there anything else?

QUESTION: Jim, there's one question that has been asked and that is the cost of a stereo slide broken down.

MR. JAMES CURRIE: Well now, that depends entirely on whether or not you do the work yourself. Of course, if you are caught with the strong desire to have the thing and it's so new that no one has it, as Mr. Ott says, it can be expensive, but if you are going to take your own pictures, it is quite inexpensive.

The 35 mm. Kodachrome Film that is used ordinarily can be bought in roll sizes which give sixteen stereos for $3.50. That will translate itself into something like $.22 for a picture. The finishing of the film itself is included in that price, returned to you from the Eastman laboratory finished in a strip. It is then necessary to mount them into slides. The mounting services that are standard around the country do that work. It's $1.04 for the entire roll, so it amounts to about $4.50 for about sixteen pictures.

The same mounting services charge about $.40 a slide for mounting in glass. That can be done (and it is not too difficult either), for approximately a nickel a slide-if you do it yourself. Now I would say that, particularly because most of your pictures would be taken out of doors, the average cost of the slide, if you do the work yourself, would not exceed $.35. If you take indoor pictures and use flash bulbs it depends on how many bulbs you use and how big they are and what they cost. Duplicates (those that are available) run about $.50 in paper and about $.90 a piece in glass.

Imagine the enthusiasm of the people who view them for the first time! Actually I think the salesmen using these kits will agree that sometimes the interest in the stereo pictures takes the prospect away from the actual purpose of the visit. I can imagine from my own experience that it would be wonderful to get in and show people exactly what you want them to see.

I think of a question that was raised to me which might be of some interest to you. Someone brought up the matter of why there were, two lenses in the camera and why they were spaced as they are, and how the distance is established. It is a simple thing; a little self-examination will remind you that there is a definite reason for your having two eyes. You don't see quite the same thing with each eye, and that is the reason for the two lenses in the stereo camera. One takes pictures to replace the mental image of the left eye, and the other one takes the picture which is intended to replace the picture of the other eye, and the reason for their placement (their normal distance apart) is simple. When we were designed (or whatever happened that brought us to our present state of being), our eyes were placed approximately two and a half inches from pupil to pupil, so we put the camera lenses the same distance apart, with the same effect.

Actually, the dimensions down to fractions is one of the conveniences of mechanical design.

Any further questions?

QUESTION: Aren't there some attachments that can be used on thirty-five cameras to do that same job?

MR. JAMES CURRIE: Yes, there are two, one called a Stereotach and another one, but they have this disadvantage. They are both beam splitters. In other words, they divide the regular picture in half, which is too small for practical use. Anything else?

MR. ARTHUR PETT: If not, Mr. Currie, will you show a couple of shots.

VOICE: Is it practical to use a wide angle lens with that?

MR. ARTHUR PETT: Yes, these are wide angle lenses. They are fifty degrees too. This camera that Mr. Currie is setting up is the new one that is coming out.

QUESTION: How much does it cost?

MR. ARTHUR PETT: $99.50 including the federal tax; that is the pick-up and take home price.

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

Why I am here I do not know. I am only a neophyte in the cemetery sales field, and am in no position to tell many of you anything about the cemetery business. I will, however, tell you our experiences in starting a sales organization in Woodlawn Park Cemetery in Miami.

First of all, I would like to clarify the title of my talk. The word "successfully" can be questioned, but I accepted the title assigned and asked no questions, as speaking at this meeting assured me of attendance at the convention, and I knew the trip would do me good, and I would get much out of the balance of the program. However, the word "successfully" to me means, "Did the cemetery company prosper as a result of the sales organization?" and in answer to this, I can assure you that it did; primarily because the sales were increased and the interments were increased over the previous year.

Later in the assigned title are the words "old cemetery." Woodlawn in Miami would not be considered an old cemetery by many of you, but in the magic city of Miami, we are considered old, although Woodlawn Park Cemetery has only been in operation since 1913 and the City of Miami was only founded seventeen years earlier. Now to tell you something about why we started such a program; in reviewing our records, we found that for the years 1946, 1947, and 1948 a yearly volume of sales of better than two hundred fifty thousand dollars had been obtained. However, in spite of this, the company's officials, Gaines R. and Peyton L. Wilson, whom many of you know, and whose father founded Wood¬lawn, discovered that in spite of this yearly volume of sales, that starting about the middle of 1948 there was a gradual though steady decrease in interments.

It became apparent that even with Miami's ever increasing population we were not getting our fair share of the interments. Then the question was, why?

Woodlawn was still providing the best of cemetery facilities to the people of Miami, but it became evident that was not enough. Other cemeteries in our area were increasing their interments while ours were going down. The Wilsons interpreted this decrease in interments to sales made by other ceme¬teries. They were actively soliciting sales pre-need, while we in too many cases were waiting for families to come to us at time of need, and many times that was too late, because the other cemeteries had stepped into these families' homes months before and sold them cemetery burials rights in advance of need.

As a result of all this, in the summer of 1949 our management called in Mr. Wm. S. Mershon, and asked him to start an advanced sales program for us. As office manager, the first I knew of any new plan was when I was called in the office one day during July, 1949, to meet Mr. Mershon. The cards were laid on the table. Something had to be done. My only question to Bill at this time was, "How will we increase both sales and interments?" Bill answered me, "By walking and talking." This answer didn't thoroughly convince me at that time, but I can appreciate it as a fact today.

You can sell more of anything if you are asking more and more people to buy, and know how to sell them and how to ask them. During the next two months the preliminary steps in the formation of a sales organization were taken. These steps consisted first of reviewing our existing sales materials, and we found that our salesmen had swell facilities to sell at the property, but when we went into a prospect's home, we went in with only section plats, a price list and without an organized sales presentation except as the individual salesman had developed it for himself.

First of all a sales kit was developed on a planned technique, and at this time we leaned heavily on the National Cemetery Association for material we had seen but never used. A photographer took many attractive pictures of our prop¬erty, and after assembling them, we had Catherine Mershon, Bill's daughter, color them so the prospects could see the beauty of our property right in their own homes.

Then in September of last year I attended the National Cemetery Association convention in Washington. During this interim too we rented an inexpensive office for our pre-need sales organization, because we still had some reservations as to how long this sales plan might last, and we didn't want to just throw money down the drain. However, we did not do anything half-hearted. Much thought was given as to how the salesmen were to be paid. I felt we would not get good men on strictly a commission basis, particularly when the commission rate was to be lower than competition was paying, but I was wrong. In addition to the commission we set aside two percent of our sales volume into a bonus account, and have had picnics, fishing trips, dinners and other events for the sales group, as well as cash and merchandise prizes accruing from our contests.

In our preliminary organizing activities we spent money for a short time like a couple of drunken sailors, but we did this to get our sales tools sharp. At this point I want to give Bill Mershon credit for our sales tools. He got us well organized in this regard, and we have cashed in on his years of cemetery sales management experience.

On October 1, 1949, we advertised for our first salesmen. Our office at this time was a pretty barren place. There were blackboards, but they were blank on three sides of the room. Bill initiated us into the sales program and conducted the sales training of the four men, chosen from about twenty applicants. In a few days these men were in the field and a second group of four men were in the process of being trained. The same procedure of personalized training was followed in this second group, and by October 15 we began to chalk up some sales.

We didn't set the world on fire, but at the end of October we had eight salesmen in the field, trained, and selling, and we were beginning to roll. Together, they turned in during this training period about fourteen thousand dollars in sales. At the outset we did not use aptitude tests as we hired our salesmen, but today we are, and we think they are very helpful in estimating our prospective salesman's capabilities, and we believe it helps us in choosing our men wisely.

We consistently use slogans and signs in our sales office to stimulate our men. They watch our sales boards closely and when sales are made, they are posted promptly, as a salesman wants due credit for his efforts, and we try to give him this credit. Our commissions are paid on a percentage of the payments as they are made on each contract. We pay no drawing account, and only in a few cases have we given any advances. At no time have we advanced a total to all our men of over two hundred dollars.

We have had some salesmen turnover. I won't deny that, but we have cooperated closely with the salesmen, and today most of our men would not like to lose their positions with us. Their families are happy that their husbands work for Woodlawn because they have had a good income and know that their futures are secure. We use many of the sales incentive plans you fellows use. We have a big three and a little three. For the top men of each period we pay an additional one percent commissions in the big three and a half percent additional in the little three. We use weekly and bi-monthly periods and give both cash and merchandise prizes. On the walls of our office we place the pictures of the top salesmen of the month. We have had several repeaters, and when they repeat, the wives receive a picture. We have given turkeys, watches and many other prizes from time to time. We hold sales meetings twice a week, usually on Monday and Friday mornings. We try to make these meetings interesting and informative and not too long. We require attendance at these meetings. The only excuse that we will tolerate is that they are out actually with a prospect at the time, or sickness.

We discuss many things at these meetings and try to help these men improve themselves. We have used a suggestion box to obtain new ideas. We want our men to know we are there to help them and to feel a strong bond with our company. Our sales organization is now one year old. During this period of time we have chalked up much better than two hundred thousand dollars in sales from our office alone, and have maintained approximately, our cemetery office sales volume, so we have had a sixty percent overall sales increase. Against the two hundred thousand dollar plus sales in our office, we have had cancella¬tions of less than four thousand five hundred dollars, or less than two percent, which we believe to be a very good record. This has only been accomplished by close cooperation between the general office, the sales office and the salesmen themselves. I, personally, am a collector at heart. I even like to see the money come in better than I do the contracts come in, unless there is a check attached for the full amount.

Gentlemen, businesses do not thrive on sloppy collection methods any more than they do on poor sales methods. Getting a contract is not enough. You have not profited until the money comes in from the sale, so ask for the money when it is due. You don't get a sale without asking for it, and the same applies to the money end. I feel sure there are cemeteries that have large receivables, but when you look at their monthly collections, it would amaze you to see how small the amount of money collected is.

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast, but a wishbone never took the¬ place of a backbone, fellows." In sales work or in collection work this is true. Be a salesman, but also be a collector. We keep a record of each sale made so as to know where our sales originate. We want to know the sources of our sales so we can determine where to spend our advertising dollars and where to put our future effort.
We now have ten men in our sales organization, and expect to maintain about this size group in the future. I won't say we haven't had our headaches. We have had our share, also we have had our moments of great joy when sales looked pretty easy, and other periods when things were pretty rough, but we have tried to keep slugging it out with our prospects, and we have learned that hard work, knowledge of our product and use of proper methods with our prospect will bring results.

It has been a privilege and pleasure to be working at Woodlawn. The future of our sales organization is now known. Of that there is no doubt. We hope to improve our methods of operation as the months and years roll by. Woodlawn of Miami is beautiful. It harbors the beloved of our great families in our area, both rich and poor, and with reverence we thank the Almighty for the privilege of daily convincing many families of the advantages of ownership in Woodlawn before that day when the shadows of death cause so much pain.

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

The title of this talk, "Sales Incentive from a Management Viewpoint," is so comprehensive that it seemed to me, as I worked on it, that it might have been more fitting to call it "What Management Should Do to Build and Maintain a Successful Sales Organization."

There are two ways to operate a business, whether it's the cemetery business or any other. You can operate it with as low overhead as you can possibly get by with and take what business comes to you easy, or you can carry on an aggressive promotional program-advertising, etc. and in a cemetery that would be a pre-need sales campaign. In our own operation that has been necessary because of our location, and because we do have some very active competition in Dallas. We found out early it was necessary for us to seek our business actively if we were to do any considerable volume, so we have operated on that basis ever since we have been there.

Now it seems to me the first sales incentive that should be provided is adequate and competent sales leadership or sales management. In a small cemetery that perhaps is not in a position to hire or employ a full-time sales director, this leadership must come from management itself, but in many cases many of you represented here do have your own sales managers, and I think it is important that you have as good a sales manager as possible. So many people ask me, "How do you get one?" Frankly, I can't answer that, but it occurs to me that there are few ready made cemetery sales managers available to any of us, and it also occurs to me that we possess no particularly unusual and unfounded ability. The same ability that we have, others have. We have got to seek them out, and if you find any able, competent, aggressive, intelligent young or relatively young man who wants to learn sales work, I see no reason in the world why you can't teach him to be a sales manager in the cemetery business. It is going to take some work on your part. When you find and hire the man you have got to outline some definite policies. You must cut his work out and leave him alone, and not be doing all his work for him. You let him do as much of it as he will. It makes him feel better if he begins to accomplish things, and he probably will begin to accomplish things. You want to back him up by furnishing subscriptions to sales magazines, to sales services, to releases that are put out by insurance companies, to books having to do with selling; in other words, try to help him become a better sales manager through the equipment that is made available to sales managers in general. A great deal of that material is applicable to the cemetery field.

Then you can give him what other additional help you want to give him. We, in our institution, use the services of an outside firm, or cemetery consultants, to come in and consult with us once or twice a year, because we find that helps us to keep on the track. You are apt to get off if you start working by yourself.

The next thing you have is a room, a comfortable place for a sales organization to work. As I visit around over the country, I try to make it my business to visit cemeteries continuously, and I am often amazed that the front office is a roomy, airy place with a lot of desk space and everything, yet when I get back to the part that is supporting the whole institution I find a cramped room with a couple of desks in it, three or four folding chairs and a couple of small blackboards on the wall, and that is the sales room; yet that is the department that is main¬taining the front office. I think it is necessary that they have plenty of room, and feel they are just as important as any other part of that institution.

I think it is necessary to furnish them with adequate blackboards. I like lots of blackboards. We didn't learn it ourselves. Bill Boyd came down to Texas and used lots of boards. We started using them and it helped us a great deal. A man can see what his record is as compared to the others operating that month. He sees how he is standing compared with last year. It is all around the room, so that everybody, including himself, can tell just how well each one is doing. They like that.

The next sales incentive is to provide that man with selling tools, good selling tools. If I go in a garage with my car to have it worked on and the mechanic has only a broken screw driver and a pair of pliers with one handle bad on it and everything is greasy or covered with dust and sand and I don't see any good looking tools there, I think immediately, "This character is not fit to work on this automobile. I've got too many chips invested in this car to turn it over to him," and if a salesman has a beat-up kit with the zipper torn halfway off, and it looks as if he's had it since the cemetery was founded, and you see a bunch of old dirty sheets of paper and pictures that look like the management must have hired a man to come out at a buck a picture and consequently didn't make very good ones, and all contracts and forms are dog-eared, I immediately get the idea that the salesman is selling something cheap or he'd have a better sales kit, he'd have better tools.

You expect others to have adequate tools with which to do a job. It is just as essential that you furnish your sales department with adequate tools. They are available at not much expense from the N.C.A., including leather kits and acetate sheets. Many of the sheets that go inside those acetate covers are available. Surely you have some interesting pictures of your own property. As Dr. Eaton said the other night, "There are few cemeteries that cannot find things of interest if they will look around; things to talk about, things of which to make pictures in their own property." Of course, if you can't do that, you can do what all of us have been doing for the last twenty years. You can take some pictures of Forest Lawn at Glendale, California, and start using them. I am sure Dr. Eaton doesn't mind, because almost everybody has done it.

Now the man is in business; he has his kit, his blackboards, and he wants to put something on it. I think, perhaps, if you would name the one thing that management can do that creates as great a sales incentive as any other, it would be the fulfillment of management's promises to their salesmen on time. If you promise to build a section and have it completed within eighteen months from the date of opening said section for sale, or whatever the date is, have the section ready by that time. You do two or three of them that way and then you start telling the salesmen that "whatever we tell you we are going to do, we are going to do it better, and we are going to do it on time." He sees that happen a few times and then he believes it, and he's able to get that message over to the people with whom he's talking. I think that is one of the most convincing things that you can do to make a salesman believe in you and believe in your institution.

The next thing is build those things that you promise to build better than you actually promised. If you are going to build a chapel, it's not too difficult to do it a little bit better than you picture it in the minds of the men and one of the most gratifying things that can happen is for a lot owner to tell your men who are in the field, "Oh yes, we bought a lot out there in 1937; they were getting ready to build a chapel and we bought a lot in Chapel Section. We had no idea they were going to erect such a lovely building as they did, and we are sure proud of it." He hears that a few times and hears, "Yes, we own in the Masonic Section" or whatever the section is, "We are right there close to the monument; we had no idea it would be as lovely as it is; we are so proud of it." You see how it snowballs on the man and gives him confidence? He knows pretty quickly from that time on whatever he promises, whatever we promise through him, we are going to deliver.

Deal fairly with your salesmen and sales manager. When you employ a man, either salesman or sales manager, enter into an employment contract with him; then he knows the terms and conditions under which he is employed. He knows what his commission rate is supposed to be. You never get into any argument with him, and if you don't chisel him, if you don't get the feeling that he is making more money than he should be making, if you don't get the feeling that on his big deal you ought to cut him down with "After all, I helped him, close it, you know," the salesman gets the feeling that here's an outfit that deals fairly with him and who is going to deal fairly with others too.

We have had examples of this. We have lost in the last few years six of our men to other organizations within our city.

Salesmen change around, you know. Today I believe three or four of those men are back with our organization. Now, one of the reasons they came back was, after they left, they continued to get their earned commissions. We did not chisel. I believe three or four of them are now back because we treated them fairly while they were here and we treated them fairly after they left. Men like that. They tell one another about it. It helps to keep a sales organization.

The next point is, have clear-cut policies and procedures. Reduce your pro¬cedures to writing. I refer to policy such as your charges for removal from another cemetery to yours. Sales people often come in contact with someone who owns a lot in the country; they have a burial or two on it or it is within our own cemetery, they have too small a lot and want it moved to a larger lot; what are our charges for removals? If they buy a certain size lot would we give a discount on removal? It does not require too much time to reduce all of those to writing, actually cover the charges and then a salesman, instead of having to go in to you and take up your time and maybe you make one price on this one and another price on another one, he just looks at his sheet and it's all mimeographed, and the customer feels good, as he knows everybody is getting the same treat¬ment. It makes it simpler. Have all your prices mimeographed, and don't vary your, prices; don’t vary your charges. When you do, you are destroying the confidence of your sales people in your institution.

Do enough advertising to let the people know where your property is located. That is a sales incentive. When your salesmen are out working, they shouldn't have to spend the first five minutes of their time when they call in the evening making sure the people know where the property is located. Management should have done that job through newspapers, television, Easter Sunday services, Memorial Day services, radio, or other media to let the people of the com¬munity know the name of the property. Get it fixed in their minds, get its location fixed. That helps the salesman in his calling on the people.

I think it is necessary to provide contests and bonuses. In fact, if our commission rate were a little lower, I would like it so that we could payout more money for contests, bonuses, etc. Contests and bonuses create enthusiasm; they gain recognition for the men, for the winners. You know if you got a good salesman, he wants recognition inside his own organization; he wants recognition outside the organization. He and his wife can’t tell their neighbors, "Joe is making $250 a week now”; he would be bragging if he tells them how much money he is making, but if they say, "Joe won this nice radio here" or "Joe won this $75 watch when he was top man over at Restland last month." They say "Oh, is that so," and he gets some recognition. He can tell folks about that but he can't show his money.

In addition to that, he likes to be recognized in his own organization, that he's the top drawer boy there. Maybe you have his picture on the front counter and the girls of the accounting department speak a little more friendly to him; they recognize him. That is why you need bonus deals and contests. It isn't the money he wins, but it's the lift that it gives him in winning.

Now, I think that the quality of funeral services at your institution and my institution affects sales.

A funeral service brings more people to your cemetery than any other one activity. It is the ultimate point for which that lot was sold. When the salesman sold it he pictured in the people's minds the value that that lot would reach on the day of need, and I think on that day of need we should go as far as possible to make that service as nearly perfect as is within our means and is within the price that we are getting for the service. You can't lose money on it, but do use good equipment and have your men in uniform.

I have been in some cemeteries and watched services where it seemed to me that they felt when the lot was sold and paid for, they had the purchaser hooked after that, and they didn't have to take care of him too well even at the time they had the funeral on that lot. I think that hurts sales about as much as any¬thing an institution can do, because at that time, when many people are there, it us urgent that they go away feeling, "There's an understanding operation; people there understand the business they are in; they are cemetery people," and then when a salesman accidentally calls on one of those families in a can¬vass, or whatever it is, they say, "Oh yes, I was out there; we attended the funeral of Mrs. Jones there; it's a lovely place." You see, he's halfway in; he's halfway there; he's got a receptive audience.

It is management's obligation to take a place in the community. Throughout the years, one of the things that has always provoked me ... doesn't provoke me, it's more chagrin, I guess ... I'll meet someone on an airplane or a stranger at a luncheon, and we are right friendly. Apparently he thinks I am a pretty swell fellow and I ask him what he does and perhaps he is a lawyer or a doctor or working for the Schlitz Brewing Company or something like that, and he asks what I do and I say, "I'm in the cemetery business." Well, you would think I had hit him with a wet towel; I've chilled him. He's cool. Now, I don't know why it is. I think this is about as good looking a bunch of men and women as I ever see around, and I know dang well it takes just as much intelligence to carryon one of our operations as it does to operate most of the other businesses with which I am familiar, but unfortunately not too many of us take an active part in our community, in our civic clubs; we have just been the cemetery operator. They think of us as digging the graves and locking up the gates and taking advantage of the people at the time of death.

We should be active in our communities, working on the Community Chest, taking an active part in the Kiwanis, the Lions Club, the Rotary and your other civic clubs. I don't mean be present, but be somebody in it. By taking an interest in the various civic activities of the community, it is so easy to be recognized, and then when your salesmen happen to call on somebody and he finds out he is with the Atlas Metal Works and he happens to have heard me mention it or he knows that Mr. Story is a member of the club that I happen to belong to, and maybe Mr. Story says, "I know George Young or so and so," and the salesman says, "Oh, you do?" The salesman says, "Here's a man who knows my boss, and he's a pretty good guy," and he thinks the other one is a pretty good guy too, and the salesman has something to talk about.

You owe it to your sales organization, to yourself, and your property to take a place in the community in which you live.

This is the last point. Management's obligation to be sales-minded. You must develop your sections; you must plat your sections with sales in mind. When Nash recently came out with its little Rambler, they call it, I am sure the president of Nash didn't begin riding around in one of these, but he built it because he felt there was a market for it. His analysts had been throughout the country finding out what the people wanted, and they wanted a cheaper car; they wanted a smaller car, a more economical car; a car that is a convertible. Anyhow, he thought that is what they wanted and they built it.

Our important corporations throughout America don't build what the man¬agement wants they build what they think the people want. We used to plat all our lots in six-grave lots. It's easier to plat them like that, but during the years we now have developed to a point where we keep a record in every section of what we sell. In platting the next section we plat according to what we think the demand was, and now instead of platting all 6's, we plat about twenty-eight percent 6's, fifty percent 4's, and of those 4's about thirty percent are deluxe 4's…that is, all the graves are side by side. Maybe you are doing it already. It was kind of new for us. We used to plat them two by two; now thirty percent of them are side by side.

In the past we never platted companion lots, two-grave lots. Now in every section thirteen or fourteen percent of them are two-grave lots. About six percent of them are deluxe companions- those are three-grave lots. We are trying to build, and I think all of us must build what we think the people want, arid when I say "what the people want" I mean what the people will buy. Don't build what you like.

In your sales organization you must show interest. The greatest incentive that management can offer is to come in occasionally and look at the boards and talk with the fellows, kid them about their position, let them know that you know what they are doing. Let the sales manager know that you are interested in what he is doing.

If you've got a construction job going on, if you are building a section or if you are buying a feature and installing it, if you are the management, I'll bet you are looking at the section and wondering if the guy is putting in the feature like he's supposed to; if you are enlarging the office, you are looking at it all, the time, but the sales department is just as important, if not more so, than anyone of those, so don't you hire a sales manager and say, "Well, Bub, it's yours, I'm going to leave it with you." Let him know and let the sales depart¬ment know that you are interested continuously in what they are doing.

Keep abreast of their problems in the field. As an example of what I mean, we used to sell corner markers 6 x 6 inches square, bronze corner markers, for $30 a pair-rather profitable item. We just did fairly well. Then I attended a sales conference and heard a man talking and he said, "We install bur corner markers when only $50 has been paid in on the lot." In our case we were requiring that the entire lot be paid for before we permitted installation.

We came back and put that into effect, and today instead of selling just a few corner posts we sell seventy-five to eighty sets a month. That is what I mean by keeping abreast of the problems that are confronting your men in the field. Keep abreast of what your competition is doing. If you don't, you'll wake up some day and they'll be so far ahead of you you'll never catch up. It's hard enough to stay up in my town watching them all the time. A bunch of my competitors are sitting in the front row here.

Read, study, attend conventions, and attend sales conferences, plan your opera¬tions well in advance; stay on the job. If you are in the cemetery business be in the cemetery business. I don't see how a man can operate a cemetery business by proxy and do it successfully. I have to work at it all the time, practically day and night.

Be accessible to your men; let the salesmen be able to come in and talk over their problems with you. Don't go over your sales manager's head, but there are times when the sales manager would like them to bring some problem to you. Be accessible to them.

I don't say we do all these things-these are the things we would like to do; if you would do a reasonable number of them, you would create a great deal of confidence in you on the part of your sales organization. To me that is the greatest sales incentive that you can bring about and it gives him a feeling of pride when he is talking about the property and a feeling of pride when he talks about his management. And he will do a fairly successful job of selling then. Thank you!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

Please don't let the title of my talk confuse you. I have nothing new to offer, nor have I discovered a way to influence the people of my community to walk into our cemetery and plead with our sales organization to allow them to pur¬chase a burial estate. Neither have I found a way to transform the average person with sales ability into a cemetery salesman simply by handing him a sales kit.

For several years I have been attending National Cemetery Association con¬ventions and sales conferences, and like many other cemetery operators in com¬munities the size of mine, I have listened to the successful cemetery owners and sales managers tell how they managed their cemeteries, trained and hired their sales force, how their salesmen secured leads and closed sales. Like many other operators I would applaud the speakers and say to the fellow sitting next to me, "That kind of stuff is all right in his town, but you can't do that in Daven¬port." So I would go home and wait in my office for someone to come and ask me to sell them a burial estate.

The truth is not too many years ago I discovered the secret of successful ceme¬tery men and the funny part of it was I had known it; all the time, but was too lazy to use it. Gentlemen, the cemetery operator in a large city is the same kind of a human being as a cemetery operator in a small city. The cemetery salesmen in a large city were the same kind of guys as the cemetery salesmen small city, the buyer of burial estate property in a large city is the same kind of a person as one who buys burial estate property in a small city. They all eat the same kind of food, wear the same kind of clothes, they all marry, raise families, work for a living, like to make money and spend money, so if the buyer of burial estate property is the same kind of person as in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, he must be the same kind of person in Davenport, Iowa.

Therefore, if a salesman in New York can sell $12,000 worth of burial property in one month, a salesman in Davenport, Iowa, should be able to sell $12,000 worth of burial property in one month because a salesman in Davenport can call on as many prospects and make the same number of interviews in one day as man in New York.

It is not the size of the town that makes the salesman, it is how well he is trained by management; it is the cooperation and assistance given him by management and the quality of the product management has to sell that makes him the successful salesman in any business. Before management can train a salesman in a small city he must follow the same steps used by his brethren in the large city, that is, know the "know how" himself. He must be capable of hiring and training salesmen, inspiring salesmen to sell his products, he must assist and work with his salesmen and remember that they are the life blood of his business and should be respected and paid accordingly. If management capable of doing this job it should employ someone trained and capable the job for him.

Now, how does Mr. Little Guy like myself go about hiring and training a sales force? First of all go out and ring a few door bells and make a few interviews. You will soon find out that it takes more than a sales kit to sell burial estates. I secured my information for doing this job by attending these conventions and don't forget the sales conferences; they are the universities of our business. We are the professors and the students. We come here to give and receive our information.

With the information received from this organization I operate a six-man sales organization, build and manage my cemetery in a community of 80,000 people. Half of the sales force has been hired and trained by management the other half was hired by a cemetery service organization. Every man in my organization was carefully screened and properly trained before they were allowed to enter the field as one of our service representatives.

It would be foolish for me to stand here and tell you how to operate your sales department for two reasons: First, there are a great many cemetery operators attending this convention from communities no larger than mine and are doing a better job than I am, the only difference being they have been at it a longer time due to the fact that they have been more alert than your speaker and saw the importance of pre-need sales. Second, what I would tell you and have you believe were my ideas, you have heard many times by the leaders of our industry, so I am going to tell you how and why we operate our sales force.

The first year in the cemetery business I thought all that was necessary was to have a lawn mower to cut grass, a shovel to dig graves, a cemetery to sell and an office for the citizens to come to and buy a burial estate. After I had worn out the seat of my pants I began to get hungry, and by the way, you would be surprised how hunger can make you ambitious. You see, my city was no different than any other community in our great nation. We had competition from cemeteries who had built their reputations by servicing our city for nearly a century.

From hunger I became Davenport Memorial Park's first pre-need sales organi¬zation, both sales manager and salesman. Every morning I would hold a sales meeting with myself and review the cash balance and the accounts payable, then give me "Hell" and go out and try to sell another burial estate.

At first the results were discouraging, but I continued to read and study the "How and Why" of the successful salesman of this association, and gradually the efforts began to show results. With such results there was a possibility of a profit. From this encouragement, an effort was made to hire a salesman. Another sales kit was prepared; an ad was placed in the local newspaper from which a salesman was hired. His training consisted of telling him how much money he could make. Everyone wanted to buy a cemetery lot. He was then presented with a sales kit and told to go to work. In one week I had the sales kit, but no salesman.

The second attempt was made and Mr. Jones was hired. He was shown how to canvass, make interviews and overcome objections. Mr. Jones was fairly successful; made money for himself and the cemetery. After operating for eighteen months with one salesman, Mr. Brown was hired and trained to the best of my ability. During the first six months in the business, Mr. Brown sold more than Mr. Jones sold his entire first year. Was Mr. Brown a better salesman than Mr. Jones? No! Through competition, Mr. Jones doubled his sales in the next six months.

This firmly convinced me that you do need more than one salesman in your organization. Your salesmen, to be successful, must have competition. Even in a small town you cannot afford to put all your eggs in one basket. If you have but one salesman, and he should quit, your sales organization is lost. Fortunately, our two salesmen had what it takes. Personality, ambition and willingness to work, which made them very successful in our business! Unfortunately, because of their success I became satisfied and made the statement that a town the size of ours could not stand more than two salesmen. We were afraid of running out of prospects. I ate these words after I found that we had sold three different families in the same house in a period of two years and three months and when people were coming to the cemetery to buy burial estates for immediate use after they had told our salesmen they owned in other cemeteries.

We were now operating in the black. With this success we became more ambitious and proceeded to increase our sales force to six men. This was done with the help of one of the cemetery consultant organizations and over the objections of our two-men sales organization, who feared an increased sales organization, would decrease their income and endanger the permanency of their positions. The new men were hired by placing a blind ad in our local newspapers. These replies were carefully screened and only those of good character and background that we felt would make them a success in our business and a credit to the industry were considered. If interested, they were invited to sit in on a two-day session with our regular salesmen which we called a school of instruction. In our case the school was conducted by a cemetery consultant organization who did an excellent job.

With a six-man sales organization, sales meetings became a "must." We now hold sales meetings every morning, Monday through Saturday, at 8:00. At these meetings we go over our interviews, exchange ideas on handling objections, always allowing the salesmen to take an active part in these discussions. They come up with some darn good ideas. Be sure you give them credit. They like to see their names in the limelight as well as you do. Handling this size organization, how was I going to keep them producing? I realized if they did not produce, they would become dissatisfied and leave. We checked to see what the cemetery operators were doing in the large cities, because we were convinced that if they could do it in New York or Houston we could do it in Davenport.

Our investigation showed that they were holding contests in their own group and with salesmen in other cities. Our first endeavor in the contest field was cash prizes. We gave cash bonuses for such things as salesman having the largest volume for a week, two sales in one day, increasing his volume over the previous week and many others. This created a competitive spirit among our own organization ¬and produced results. The only trouble was the prizes were paid in cash bonuses as earned, and the salesman put the money in his pocket. His wife never saw it. All she knew was that her husband was working more evenings and coming home later each evening, which she did not like.

This taught us that we needed the cooperation of the salesmen's wives, so we again went to the large cemeteries and found that they were using the services of companies like Belnap Thompson, who specialize in premium catalogs for sales contests. With the aid of this company we conducted a three-month sales contest. Our first step was to invite the wives to participate. We gave them the premium catalogs and told them how their husbands could win prizes. The salesmen were given points on the same basis as they received cash prizes in our previous contests.

The point system was set up so that the low producer had an opportunity of winning. We kept in mind that we wanted to encourage the low producer to increase his volume. Before this contest, our highest volume for one month was $23,400. We set our goal at $30,000 per month. The first month we did over $31,000, the second month over $37,000 and the third month over $42,000 a total volume for the three months over $112,000. It would be quite foolish to tell you that this is an outstanding record, for I feel sure that there are two cemeteries in my state that have equaled or bettered this record, but I was quite proud of it because we are now doing in one month what we used to do with ten in ten months.

Our next step was a contest with our neighboring city, Cedar Rapids, a town of about the same size and with a sales force of equal number. This contest proved to be very beneficial to both cities. An excellent gift was presented to the high man, plus the losers entertained the winners at a dinner. I might say we disliked acting as hosts to Cedar Rapids, but we are looking forward to enjoying their hospitality November 1.

These contests create real spirit. For this month's contest one of the Cedar Rapids boys has prepared two large barometers which show the daily standings of both cities. One of our men has teamed a Davenport man against a Cedar Rap¬ids man and drew six barometers-one for each group, on which he shows the volume of our man against his Cedar Rapids opponent. Each day we exchange total volume and individual sales volume. These figures are posted on the barometer and create a real interest among our salesmen. Every morning they want to know how they stand against their Cedar Rapids opponents.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the spirit and enthusiasm that makes salesmen topnotch producers. Remember, it is the salesman who sticks that makes you money. The ones you spend time and money to train, and then quit, cost you money. In our small organization we figure it costs us $300 for the first two weeks training given a new man. Therefore, we are very careful to select men we feel will succeed in our profession.

I used to feel it was impossible to hire good men in a small community. This is not true if management is capable and willing to train men. Since management in our cemetery has taken an interest in its sales organization, our men earn more than the average executive in our area. Three weeks before attending this meeting, a cashier of a bank in our community resigned his position and now wants to join our sales organization; remember, he is asking us for a chance. Why?-because the opportunity of earning money is far greater with us than it was in the bank. Investigate in your own community. See what men in responsible positions are earning and you will be surprised at the golden opportunity we have to offer prospective salesmen. Don't be a chiseler! When you trained and hired your salesman, you offered him a certain percentage. You have made this figure a part of the cost of merchandise you have to sell, and becomes part of your selling price. Just because his income increases rapidly, don't try to find a way to take it away from him. Encourage him to make more because every time he sells a burial estate, you make a profit. You have set the amount of this profit when you establish the price of your lots. If you find it is not enough, raise the prices of your merchandise.

Remember, no one can stay in business if they operate at a loss. Make your sales organization feel that you are supporting them 100%. Give them credit where credit is due. You know, in preparing this paper I recalled a statement I made several years ago and I imagine a good many other small-town operators have said the same thing and that is this: I am in no hurry to sell my property; what will I have to sell tomorrow?" Truthfully, I believe I made this statement in self-defense.

Gentlemen, when we design and build a section in our cemetery, it becomes an expense. We must maintain that section. Every time we cut the grass it increases the cost. The only way to eliminate the cost is to sell the section now and place in your "care fund" sufficient money to take care of this expense. If you wait ten years to sell this section, your cost will be far greater. Like all businesses we must sell our merchandise, turn over our money so that we can continue to grow and expand; therefore, we must have sales in volume. To do this we must have a sales organization no matter where our cemetery is located and regardless of size.

We must have a good product to sell if we are to continue to be successful in our business. Your grocer is successful because he gives you value received. You go back again and again to the same clothing store because you get the best suit for the money and they stand back of their merchandise. Are we standing in back of our merchandise? Are we making satisfied customers, and are we building for the future? Oh yes, it's easy to go into a territory and sell on promises. The people will buy but if these promises are not fulfilled you will have dissatisfied customers which mean less repeat business, or as we sometimes call it "radiation."

We like other businesses, need capital to build and expand. We sometimes get this capital by selling our prospects burial estates in a semi-developed section, promising the prospect that certain features will be built, trees will be planted, and roads constructed. The buyer is told that his money will be used to build and develop the section. Well, gentlemen, if we want repeat business, yes, and want to stay in business, let's build these adult chat features, construct the webcam sex roads and plant the adult cam trees. Let's not promise live cam girls something we cannot do. Let's build better than we promise; in that way you will build respect for your cemetery in your community.

I am very happy with the results of our sales efforts and accomplishments, but not satisfied. When we hear about the achievements of cemetery salesmen in other cities, it makes us feel like "pikers," but I can assure you that both management and salesmen at Davenport Memorial Park now have the spirit and flight to become bigger and better. The aim of the salesmen of our cemetery is to sell more burial estates in one month, as an individual, than has ever been sold by any salesman in the business.

Management is backing them all the way with better service, better construction, ¬better sales contests and better public relations. Because I have confidence in my salesmen, I know that if I take care of them, they will take care of me. Like all of you, I am proud of my development. I have dreamed and made plans for the future. I only hope that I live long enough to accomplish them, but without salesmen, my dreams and plans would be lost. God help them and make them love me always!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

I would like to clarify the title of my speech this morning. It is misstated. Several years ago the Chairman asked me to give a title for a speech at the convention. It's always difficult for me to do this, but in the current language of several years ago, I said, make it, "It's Later Than You Think." When the program was printed it read, "It may be too late."

Some time last spring our Charlotte Sales Executives Club put on what we call the Piedmont Sales Conference, a meeting of sales executives from all over the North Carolina Piedmont area. They offered a prize for a slogan for that meeting. I won a quart of whiskey with the slogan, "Mid Century Sales, Markets and Methods," not memorials. "Markets and Methods," this is the real title of my speech today. I don't know anything about memorials, if you are thinking about tombstones, at least.

My good friend Parks said to me outside, "I am staying over to listen to your talk; I want to hear you speak on 'memorials'." I said, "Somebody has put up a job on you; that ain't it." You know, I think Howard Ott let me down very badly, getting up here and telling us that his wife had gallstones. Why couldn't she have had gall-bronze instead of gallstones? Imagine a Memorial Park pioneer like Ott permitting an old-fashioned thing like that!

Now this title - "Mid Century Sales." The very first word of it brings to mind we are mid-point of a century that's been very interesting to live in, and some of our lives span back that far.

At the turn of the century I was a fourteen-year-old boy. Now a little mental arithmetic will give you the answer. I will be sixty-five next April. Fourteen years old and I was reading what the kids read at that time, surreptitiously, "literature" that corresponds, I suppose, with the "comic books" that the kids use today. They called them Dime Novels. I don't know why; they only cost a nickel. I am sure Dr. Eaton read them at Liberty, Missouri, because that is Jesse James old stamping grounds, you know, and some of these were about Jesse. Dime Novels. Our parents were scandalized. Stuffing our heads with all the foolish stuff that was in those books! My mother was so opposed to them, I kept them in the barn, didn't dare bring them in the house. Toted them from there to school where I traded for others. There was one series of those Dime Novels that had to do with a fellow named Frank Read, Jr. Some of you oldsters will remember. He was an inventor. He made horseless car¬riages and submarines and airplanes and things like that, and my parents thought that was terrible stuff to stuff my mind with, fantastic crazy contraptions that were out of this world. That was fifty years ago.

One afternoon last summer I got on a plane at New York and the next morning about 6 AM New York time, dropped down at Orley Field in Paris. Just a few hours crossing the Atlantic in one of those "crazy contraptions" that were considered so fantastic fifty years ago that our parents didn't even want us to read about them. That's the kind of world we are living in.
So it is proper, I suppose, at the mid-century mark, to review what is taking place. We are so close to it that we can't appreciate the vastness of the change. Did you ever think about the fact that prior to a little over one hundred years ago nobody ever traveled any faster than a horse could take him? For ten thousand years mankind never improved on the speed of travel. They were plenty smart back in those days too. Then in the early part of the 19th century came the steam engine, the locomotive and the trains and we stepped up our speed many fold, from the speed of a horse to the speed of a train. And then, later, in my own day, in my own home town, the first automobile was made down at Kokomo, Indiana.

With the internal combustion engine applied to the making of automobiles, we stepped up our speed tremendously. The marvelous automotive industry that we are so close to and so familiar with that it doesn't induce any wonder has all come about in your day and mine. Then the airplane. We eat our dinner in New York and our breakfast in Los Angeles, and if we have an early enough dinner, we can even get to Los Angeles and be in bed by midnight. You and I are living in the midst of changes like this. That's the century of which we are in the mid-point now.

I might further point out that prior to one hundred years ago nobody ever sent a message faster than a horse could take it. Some time ago in the Readers' Digest I saw a review story of the old pony express days when back in our grandfather's day by relay of fast horses they carried a message from the Missouri River to California in nine days, and bragged about it. It made the front pages of the newspapers. For thousands of years nobody had ever done it any faster than that. And then came the telegraph and the telephone, and now the magic of radio. You go home tonight and tune in and hear somebody say, "Come in, Tokyo," and a fellow around on the other side of the world is bringing you up to date on the war.

That's the century of which we are at the midpoint. I could go on indefinitely with similar illustrations. I am just speaking of these to remind you that an active minded generation that produced airplanes and automobiles and submarines and radio and phonographs and all of the magic that we are used to today, also made it inevitable that we should eventually do something about the cemetery, because it too had made no progress for thousands of years.

I have visited old cemeteries in Europe, Asia and Africa some that are a thousand, two thousand years old; no one knows how old they are. Our idea of old things in America is quite inadequate. We are, as a nation, so new. This summer after a day's trip down the Rhine, we stopped at the old cultured city of Cologne. They had flags and bunting out getting ready apparently for a celebration that night. I asked what it was all about, and was told that they were celebrating their nineteen hundredth anniversary as a city.

Up in Oslo, Norway, a week or two later, they had flags out; they were celebrating the seven hundredth anniversary of the city. They have a historical background into which to fit the things that are going on in the world today that we do not have in this country. That is the reason they don't get quite so excited about some things as we do here.

No, it is a wonderful century in which we are living, and in this business of ours, the cemetery business, we have witnessed more progress in only a portion of that half-century than has come about in hundreds of years before. You and I have had a part in this, a very enjoyable part for most of us, with some profit, with some reward for the hard work that we have put into it. But I think for the conscientious cemetery man, the greatest compensation is not in the dollars ... We are not discounting that, of course. The workman is worthy of his hire and anyone who develops some better way of doing things, something or some method that contributes to the greater enjoyment and the comforts and the conveniences of life, is entitled to make some money out of it, and apparently the public does not begrudge it.

The greatest compensation to the conscientious cemetery man is the knowl¬edge that he's doing something for the city in which he lives and the people among whom he lives, that he's taking an institution that was traditionally gloomy and depressing, dressing it up in new clothes and making it bright and cheerful, colorful and inviting, taking the "graveyard" that was associated in the public's mind with its grief, its sorrow; that old place out at the edge of town that most of us were so afraid of when we were kids that we went around the other way at night to get home; making it over into a place delightful to visit, not just for those who came to bury their dead but for all the people who love the brightness and color and cheerfulness of landscape gardening and artistic architecture.

"All the world loves a lover," they say. All the world loves a garden too. The garden plan of cemetery design represents a great step forward in the treatment of an old problem, the memorialization of our beloved dead. You and I have a part in that, and we are happy in our work. If incidentally, we make some money out of it, who is to complain? Again I say that the workman is worthy of his hire and the American public always feels that way about it.
There is the danger, of course, that a too-great materialism may creep in; that we may get to depend upon the material too much in the way of reward. That is a danger always present as the new and better things of our day have come about. Aboard that plane, flying across the Atlantic last summer, I had time to do a lot of thinking.

I remembered that during the war Madame Chiang Kai Shek in an address, I think it was at one of our colleges, presented her message under three captions¬- “learning from the past," "living in the present," and "dreaming of the future." As we winged our way across the ocean on that great French Constellation plane, I looked back over nearly thirty years in the cemetery business and tried to assess the lessons learned, tried to apply those lessons to today s problems and make use of them as we "plan the future."

In Paris this summer I again visited the Louvre Museum. There is one particular picture there that I always like to see. Some of the things in the Louvre you are supposed to admire leave me a little flat. I am not educated up to them, I guess. The Mona Lisa is one, and the Venus de Milo, just isn’t my style. Some of those things remind me of what Mark Twain said about classical music. He said, "It's the kind of music you keep listening to in the hope that it will turn into a tune." Some of the world's art treasures don't "turn into tunes" for me. But there's this particular picture that I always go to see. It is by an artist named David. He painted with a lot of color, and I like that. This picture that I am talking about is a very large one, a picture of an historical event-¬"The Crowning of Napoleon." It is a picture of that time when the Little Corporal had come to the zenith of his power. All Europe lay at his feet, and he had assembled here the high brass of Europe, military, ecclesiastical and civil. He wanted to found a dynasty, to perpetuate his power. Right at the last minute of the crowning ceremony the vain Napoleon reached over and, took the crown out of the Pope's hand and put it on his own head. He wasn’t willing to admit that even the head of his church "ranked" him enough to do that thing for him.

The next day over on the other side of the city we visited his tomb, and I could not but remember how few short years intervened between his crowning and his defeat in the field of battle, his fleeing from his enemies, his capture, his imprisonment his death in prison. In this picture I was impressed with the fact that those whose hope of the future rests upon mastery of material things, those who forget that the intangible, the “unseen" forces are those that will continue and endure are in for a rude awakening.

In 1938 we were in Italy and Mussolini was strutting his stuff in a big way about that time, jutting out his chin, making his flamboyant speeches. All of Italy was organized, even the little kids were marching, boys no older than our Boy Scouts in full military apparel, everybody shouting Mussolini’s name and praises. "Viva Mussolini," "Viva il Duce" was written everywhere, on the barns, bridges, warehouses and even on the rocks of the hills. It was, at the high point of the Duce's career. He talked in terms of rebuilding the empire of the Caesars, reviving the glories of Rome in the modern world. The Italians believed it and wildly acclaimed him as only the Latin people can enthuse.

Ten years later - that was two years ago - I visited a filling station at Milan, Italy, the place where they had hanged him, ignominiously hanged him to¬gether with his girl friend, after he was dead, head down. I couldn’t help but remember something St. Paul said once, for we look not at the things that are seen" he said "but at the things that are not seen, for the things that are seen, are temporal, 'but the things that are not seen are eternal." The world has been slow to learn.

The idealism of the memorial park movement will last and last through centuries. The material aspects are subject to change and a too-great "materialism" in our attitude and behavior may react to our disappointment. Last summer we got a car in Munich for an all day trip down into the Bavarian Alps to a little village called Berchtesgarten. That was where the late Mr. Hitler made his "hide-out" to entertain his satellite stooges. This was the place where the "top brass" of Nazism assembled. On reaching the little town we got into a military car-the ordinary car wouldn't pull it-and wound our way up the side of that mountain, clear up to the snow line, and then went through a long tunnel hewn out of solid rock. At the end of the tunnel we got into a spacious elevator and ascended four hundred feet through solid rock and came out at the top the "Eagle's Nest," remember? That was the Holy of Holies of the Hitler cult. As we looked down from there, about half-way down, a group of buildings lay in ruins. This was Ober-Salzburg and here was Hitler's house, and Goring's, Martin Borman's and others of the high brass of Nazism.

This wreckage symbolized the tragic end of this man Hitler, who talked about "a thousand year of German rule" that he was going to impose on the world with his strong right arm, with his preponderance of arms. Now the place where he lived and plotted is just a pile of twisted steel. And that fellow Goring, who promised his people that no foreign airplane would ever cross the German bor¬ders, his house is there too and wrecked even worse than Hitler's.

Later we visited in Southern Bavaria a little town called Oberammergau and sat one day in a great audience of sixty-two hundred people to view the world famous "Passion Play." Two, three, sometimes four times a week such an audi¬ence assembled.

Who were they? Well, they were people of every color, race and creed. People from all over the world and from the islands of the sea, coming there in almost countless thousands and sitting in an all-clay session . . . you go at 8: 30 in the morning, you get out at noon, you come back at 2 o'clock and get out at 6 ... what is it you are looking at? The dramatization of the last week of the earthly life of a man who failed, a man who was defeated, executed, two thousand years ago. His enemies overcame Him and His friends deserted Him and it looked like His whole program had crashed.

But here to this obscure village, two thousand years later, they were coming from the far parts of the world to pay honor to His memory, to a man who talked about brotherhood, about "getting along" together, about sitting down and adjusting their differences on the basis of "brotherhood," loving each other. Love doesn't commit murder. Love doesn't steal. Love is not dominated by greed and avarice. Love doesn't do any of these things that rack and harass the world today. He said that in love people ought to get along together. But the Hitlers and Mussolinis and Stalins have scoffed at this as a "slave religion." With sword in hand they have sought dominion over others despite His warning that "They that take the sword shall perish with it."

Another thing that happened on that trip! We visited a church in Rome, called San Pietro de Vinculi, "St. Peter of the Chains." Wandering through it I saw a great heroic size, magnificent sculpture of a great character whose name was Moses. And I thought, "Where have I seen that before," and then I remembered at a Memorial Park builder named Eaton had been over there was so impressed with Michelangelo's Moses that he had made an official authoritative copy and brought it back and put it in his Memorial Park in Los Angeles. To do what? To make money out of it? No. The influence of that great masterpiece of Michelangelo erected in Forest Lawn will through all the years contribute to the culture of his city, inspire the millions who visit his park.

Then later in the old city of Florence, in Tuscany, a city that was well and beneficially ruled by the Medici Family for seven hundred years, we stood on a hill overlooking the city, and here I saw another great white statue, the original" "David" of Michelangelo, and I remembered that man Eaton had been here too had a copy made of this world-famed masterpiece and brought back to Forest Lawn. A gravestone? No. Monument? Tombstone? No. "David" was to have a place in Eaton's outdoor museum of art that he was assembling here in his world-renowned "God's Acre." And again later on the trip we were up in the industrial city of Milan. Here we visited an old monastery, on whose restored walls we viewed the great painted masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci. Not very interesting because it was so faded now. Again I remembered where I had seen that too. That same man Eaton had been here too and had this marvelous "Last Supper" reproduced authentically in a fadeless medium of art glass, brought it back, and installed it in his cemetery, his modern Memorial Park, Forest Lawn in Los Angeles.

We heard that man Eaton speak the other night, in this room, and I am a little afraid some of the hearers might misinterpret some of the things that he said. He discussed and expanded, you know the subject of how to "comb" out a few more dollars here and there in the operation of our cemeteries. Now I happen to know, and you too know that Mr. Eaton hasn't been so darn interested in dollars back in the past, as his address might imply. Do you know what I con¬cluded about it? That he was mainly trying to encourage some of those cemetery operators present who in recent times and due to higher operating costs have not been getting enough dollars to get along with, trying to say to you, "Here's some unexplored sources of legitimate revenue where you can render additional services that the public needs and thus make an extra buck or two to get you out of the red and keep you alive and in business."

I think it was to Mr. Eaton a matter of encouraging those who were a little discouraged because of the balance sheet they had last seen on their own operations. Whether Mr. Eaton makes dollars or not, we know he has built on the West Coast an institution internationally known, a place of cultural, dynamic influence, a wholesome civic enterprise which will endure for generations after his name is forgotten. Generations yet unborn will pass through the portals of the Forest Lawn Cemetery and be thrilled and inspired, their lives made brighter and their sorrow made easier because this man embodied such ideals and idealism about this new way of memorializing the dead.

I am mentioning Mr. Eaton because he is the most conspicuous among us. He has done it in a bigger way. I think he's had some advantage in the "Holly¬wood" setting out there, but he's done something that in a lesser way you and I can do anywhere in America. Some of us have been doing it. I have had a part in the organization, development and sale of a great many cemeteries.

I would like to interpolate here that if you have found you have made mis¬takes, don't get discouraged. I made them all ahead of you all the mistakes in the book.

So, if we are not perfect, let's not get too concerned about our mistakes, and remember this-that back through the years I have often heard Mr. Eaton speak about the mistakes that he too made. He didn't make as many as I did, or else he's covered them up better. Through those years we were experimenting. We were operating under very different conditions in times.

Now, that’s what’s the matter with some men who are in the cemetery business. The years have brought changes in our problems, our opportunities and in our obligations.

Turning our thoughts for a moment to the specific subject of this speech, let us consider our Market. The market for cemetery property is of course coextensive with the population. Someone asked me yesterday how big my city of Charlotte is, One hundred thirty thousand, according to the last census. Then they asked how many Negroes live there? Forty thousand, and here I can see the questioner was doing mental arithmetic so I beat him to the point and said, "I also own the Negro cemetery," so if you are a little worried about losing part of your market, that is one of the things you can do get over into servicing that market too.

Yes, the market for cemetery property is co-extensive with the population and it is always surprising to find out in any kind of a survey how large a percentage of the population is currently unsupplied. While we were operating West View in Atlanta a leading minister of the South, Dr. Louis Newton, lived right across the street from me. I asked him down to speak to our salesmen one time. We have the kind of sales meeting, by the way, that a preacher can listen in on. Which reminds me that one time in Washington one of our sales ladies brought a very cultured woman; a prospect in to see me. The lady wanted to talk to the head man for some reason. Sitting at my desk, I was discussing the business with her, and along about the middle of my talk this prospect broke in and said, "Why did you quit preaching?" Before I could answer, the sales lady spoke up and said, "He didn't; you ought to come to the sales meetings sometimes." I know I sound like a preacher sometimes. The Book I quote so much (the Bible) is the greatest sales manual in the world. Back twenty-five years ago and more (in preacher days) I interpreted that Book in terms of getting to Heaven, wear¬ing a crown, growing some wings, and walking on the golden streets. But I have discovered through the years that the Bible has to do with everything that concerns us, every day of our life. The greatest sales literature in the world is there at your service. I recommend it to you.

Well, as I started to say, we had Dr. Newton over and he said to my sales force that morning, "You know I probably go out to West View Cemetery more than you do. I have had as many as five funerals in your cemetery in one day. I know it is a beautiful place; I know all of these physical facts you use in interesting buyers, but I know something else that you tell people and I know it to be true, terribly true, and that is that it is a terrible thing for a family to wait until the hour of need to make a decision about cemetery property. I, as the pastor of such people, go through their experience with them so frequently and I know how embarrassing it is financially and otherwise. I had a case like that," he said, "about a month ago. A family in my church who has little money had a death and I had to come in and counsel with them, even had to assist them financially, and it impressed itself so much on me that at my Board of Deacons meeting that night I got up and I said to these men, 'I want to ask you a question; it has nothing to do with the church's business.' (I told them about that family that did not have any cemetery property in their desperate need.) 'I want to ask you men tonight, forty-four of you, how many of you men, if that thing happened in your family next week, how many of you have a place for burial in Atlanta that you would be willing to use?' I said, 'I don't want to hear about a churchyard down in rural Georgia.' I said, 'You would want to bury where you live; how many of you have it all settled?' And you know, out of forty-four men present there were four hands went up. My church is a rich church. These 44 men were bankers, professional and business men, yet only four out of 44 were prepared in this vital matter."

Markets - why we haven't touched the market yet. I have been selling in Charlotte ten years and I have done right well. And yet there are more people living in Charlotte today without a cemetery lot than there were when I started ten years ago. The population increase in terms of families has exceeded all the sales that I and my competitors have made. Most of the towns that you represent would show the same record. This market not only grows by people coming in from the outside, but by growth from within. Every time there is a wedding there is a nucleus of a new home, a new family unit, a user of your product.

So much, and a great deal more, can be said about our market. A great deal already has been said this morning about methods, so well said in fact that I will not try to add anything. The market we face is a challenge. The methods by which we meet that challenge are many and varied. The men who have developed these successful marketing methods have no secrets. They gladly share with you their every successful idea.
One more thought before, I close, about the market. I think I told here of a visit I once made to Palestine, One afternoon while driving from Jerusalem to Jericho, along an ancient road this thing happened. About half-way to Jericho the professional guide (the Dragoman, they call them), pointed out the foun¬dation ruins of an old building and said, "That is the traditional location of the inn to which the Good Samaritan took the injured man he found along here." You will recall the story in the parable. Jesus was talking as he frequently did about "loving our neighbor." One of the hearers spoke up that day and said, "Lord, who is my neighbor?" He didn't answer him directly; but told this story about the man journeying on this highway who fell among thieves who robbed him and beat him and left him for dead. A priest came along (it wasn't a Cath¬olic priest; they didn't have Catholics in those days) and beheld the plight of the injured man but he couldn't be bothered.

Then the Levite passed along the road and he couldn't be bothered either. Then this Samaritan came long, a man from whom the injured Jew couldn’t expect any help, but unexpectedly the Samaritan came over and gathered him up, ministered to him and took him to this inn. He even paid the injured man's bill at the inn and told the innkeeper if it wasn't enough, when he came along again he would pay the rest of it, He must have been a "traveling man." With that story Jesus answered the question, "Who is my neighbor?" "Your neigh¬bor," says the story "is anybody in need of a service that you have the power and the opportunity to render. All of this leads up to an answer for that eternal and everlasting question of salesmen.

Who is my prospect? He is any and every family in your community in need of that "protection" which before need ownership of cemetery property renders. That usually averages seventy, eighty percent of the people in your community who have not settled this matter yet. They are prospects; they are a challenge to you. In them a job is cut out for you. You could do them no greater kindness than to lead them into a pre-need purchase of cemetery property against the day of need. There is your prospect field. There is your potential market. How are you going to get to it?

My watch says I haven't got time to talk about it now. Somebody said recently that no speech was altogether bad if it was brief enough" and I am afraid this one wasn’t brief enough. I remember, too, the, salesman's prayer: "Lord, fill my mouth with useful stuff and close it when I’ve said enough." We of the top brass of sales management frequently set a very bad example.

I congratulate you on the fact that you are in the business that you are. I have, done other things besides cemetery work. I was once president of a woman’s college; can you imagine that? I taught women logic. If that won't put you m the cemetery business, I don t know what will. Outsiders often think that ours is a depressing sort of business. There is nothing of gloom, nothing of somberness in the prosecution of our work. We have the happy satisfaction every time we sell a lot; every time we sell some mausoleum space that we have rendered that family a service that endures through the whole existence of that family. It may be five years, ten years or twenty years before they ever use the lot, and they will forget our name and our face, but when the time comes when they first use that lot and every time thereafter, they are going to be profoundly grateful to the fellow who sold them. I like that kind of a business the kind of business that always renders a service immeasurably greater than the amount of dollars involved.

Whether you are on the West Coast or here in the great Middle West where I grew up or whether you are in the East, or up in New England or down South, it is the same story. Twenty-five or thirty years ago the Memorial Park was an untried experiment, a cemetery without tombstones. People had been putting tombstones in cemeteries for ten thousand years. "You can't change a custom as old as that," so they said to us. We did.

It is a long way we have traveled since the experimental days of thirty years ago. We have made mistakes along the way, and for many of them we are sincerely sorry. None of us is as smart as all of us, and we come to these meet¬ings to learn from each other. One thing about cemetery folks, they are always ready to give out, to share any experiences, any success, any new gadget or gimmick - Forest Lawn with all its international fame is here in the person of its founder, telling us how they do it and inviting you to take and profit by their long and successful experience.

In Chicago a number of years ago I was operating a couple of cemeteries for the late Jacob Rothschild, and it used to break his heart that others who were new in this work visited us, sat in our meetings, copied our plans. "Doc, you run a university; why don't you charge tuition; why don't you make these fellows pay for this information?" I always replied, "Jake, it doesn't impoverish me at all for them to carry ideas away." Through all the years we have shared our literature, our ideas, our plans and even our building plans. Anything that I have you are welcome to if you can use it. God bless you in your work.

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

It has been said there is no royal road to Geometry. If one begins at the bottom of the ladder in the cemetery business he will soon realize there is no royal road to cemetery management either. There are many problems and pitfalls that line the pathway leading to the title of a cemetery manager.

By overcoming them, one will certainly become much wiser, more capable, and will have a greater understanding of his business. To avoid and ignore our problems and to seek the easy out shows a weakness of will power. I have always tried to form a habit of choosing a form of action that I believe will be the best in the long run, in place of one that seems to be the easiest at the moment.

I have endeavored, in the time allotted, to use the same line of reasoning in presenting my subject, "Important Cemetery Management Considerations."

Let us begin by considering first, one of the most important considerations of management-the manager, the person wherein lies the success or failure of cemetery operation! What are the qualifications of a cemetery manager? What should he possess within himself that fits him to be a cemetery manager?

In my opinion the most important qualification is his personality. I would apply this yardstick in personnel from the laboring man up to the office man. I believe there could be nothing more kindly said of your cemetery than to have it referred as a cemetery with a personality, and that personality will certainly reflect the type of man at the top, and through him infiltrate through the entire organization.

The term "a cemetery with a personality" may not mean too much to you at first thought, but to put this idea into practice, you must have a smile as you serve, you must make people feel welcome and comfortable you must make them feel they are of great importance. The manager sets the pattern for others to observe and follow. He must be a person with vision, constantly thinking ahead, seeking new ideas, never being satisfied with previous accomplishments and above all humble enough to take advice and apply it wisely.

The manager should be capable of understanding human nature, be sympa¬thetic, and his code should be one of honesty, integrity and loyalty. Proper personality is one of our best insurance policies for successful management. Now let us assume that we have found the ideal manager. Let us bring to his attention some of the more important management considerations. There are many, of course, but I want at this time to present some that are vital and require his immediate consideration.

In doing so I would like to have you bear with me as I look in retrospect upon the cemetery business as I remember it a great many years ago. The cemetery business in those days was not as aggressive or involved as it is today. Compe¬tition, if any, was of little consequence, but service rendered was extensive, although rather crude, and funerals were an event. Morticians, or undertakers, as they were called, were friendly and most cooperative. Monument dealers and stone cutters, now known as memorial craftsmen, were reluctant to enter into the cemetery business and did not dream of the bronze marker industry.

In those days the funeral procession consisted of horse drawn vehicles, some of which were owned and operated, believe it or not, by the cemeteries. The servicing of the funeral was a full day's work. The most important thought was to be buried in style and with plenty of show, and most certainly to have a well attended procession to the cemetery.

It necessarily required a large staff of employees to service a funeral. There was a coachman, uniformed pallbearers, and in the absence of electrically operated chimes, you had to have a bell toll as the funeral procession passed by. Yes, funerals were truly an event, but how different today. In many cemeteries in the larger cities, funerals get to be on a production basis, and yet they receive so much better service than in the old days, with greater efficiency and less personnel. The days of the long funeral processions are gradually coming to an end. Year after year, yes, even from day to day, we see the funeral procession becoming shorter, and in a great many cases it is entirely eliminated.

Now it is an accepted fact that all cemeteries build toward sales through the many people who visit their cemetery by way of the funeral procession. It has been a great medium of advertising. If the property was attractive, had appeal, was well managed and well maintained, as well as being well serviced, people were interested, but today there is a definite trend toward eliminating this oppor¬tunity of using the funeral procession to make friends and ultimate sales. We are at this time in a fast moving age, an age in which people cannot conveniently find sufficient time to bury their dead reverently, and they are encouraged in this practice by the introduction of a new idea presented to those confronted with the burial of their loved ones-the idea of eliminating the funeral procession.

Obviously it entails less work for the funeral director; it eliminates his work at the cemetery in inclement weather and provides more hours for his recreation. There is, however, one important fact in his favor of ending the entire service at the funeral parlor, and that is the increasing hazard of traffic conditions, most certainly in the larger cities, where so many accidents occur in funeral processions.

Let us become realistic. Let us wake up to the fact and recognize this increasing trend of having the committal service at the funeral parlor; let us recognize this as causing a definite loss in sales, contrasted with the funeral procession to our property in the past. Just how serious is this situation at the present time? Last year at a great many properties, over fifty percent of the cremation services were funerals without a procession, and much worse, without any of the family attending. Why should an individual who desires his body cremated be denied the full conventional funeral ritual? In a family of husband and wife who have opposite ideas of the method of disposing of their bodies, one can desire either interment or entombment whereby the friends accompany the body to the ceme¬tery; the other might desire cremation where the committal ritual takes place at the funeral parlor. Why, may I ask the full respect for one and the lack of ceremony for the other? I can see no reason for such discrimination.

I can well understand how easy it is to promote the idea in cremation cases, and I can cite many of the arguments being used, but dangerously as the record indicates, the practice is rapidly finding its way into the entombment services, and it is obvious that it is just a matter of time until the funeral procession will be entirely eliminated.

I want to give you a concrete example of an experience we encountered just two weeks ago. A lady came to our property, expressed her desire to look at some columbarium space and intimated to the superintendent that it was for future use, and he, after showing her throughout the mausoleum and pointing out to her the various features, commented about the various chapels and she wanted to know what they were used for, and he told her they were used for the committal service for cremation or mausoleum entombment, or interment. She then revealed there would be a cremation service in her family on Tuesday. This was Sunday that she visited us. She said, “We will not be coming out here to your chapel because the funeral director told us they weren't going to the chapels any more at the cemetery, they were concluding the service at the funeral direc¬tor’s parlor." However, she thought it would be very nice to have the committal service at one of our chapels, so we waited anxiously for the order to come through expecting they would have a committal service in our chapel, but the funeral director was more powerful than our management, and the body came out unattended even by the widow.

How shall we combat this practice, or shall we even try? It is my opinion that the practice is too far advanced to do so and move over, we are not organized properly to cope with it. We might more wisely spend our time and energy filling the sales gap with other activities and methods, perhaps through beautifying grounds and buildings, training courteous personnel, in an active public rela¬tions program, and in a well planned aggressive sales campaign. In short, we must carry our story to the people in their homes, if we expect to merchandise our property.

Another challenge which has been presented to the cemeteries by the people in the memorial craftsmen group who have advertised in our local papers advertising for the public to consult not us, but memorial craftsmen, before purchasing their cemetery lots. This advertising is directed to everyone con¬templating a purchase in the monument or non-monument cemetery. Clearly they seek to govern the choice of purchase, as well as the amount of money to be expended for the memorial estate.

Now all this leads to the subject assigned me, "Important Management Considerations,” for unless we rise up to meet these challenges, eventually we win have nothing to manage and consider. It will all be managed for us. Not long ago I talked with a cemetery operator. He said he was not interested in the internal activities of his property. He did not have the time or energy to promote them. He was interested in the sale of space only, which to me labeled him as being nothing more nor less than a real estate operator. How can a man claim to be a cemetery operator if he does not think beyond the sale of space? It is true that we all cry for the need of sales, but it is my belief that it would be better to cry for the need of families.

It is most important for a successful operator to think in terms of families rather than the monetary value of each individual sale. A volume of families, even though the sales be small is wheat in the bin. They produce an abundance of future operating revenue which is the lifeblood of our existence. Strive as you may to build your fund, you will find it difficult to accomplish if, out of necessity, you are using funds acquired for the sale of land to meet your payroll, but with the ever increasing revenue accumulated from the many services rendered on those productive sales which include interment and marker charges, winter covering, floral services and other miscellaneous items to meet present and future expenses, it is evident you will acquire your "care" fund with greater facility.

To do this we need families, small sales, revenue producing sales. We should not be overly concerned with large sales, for in such cases there will be unused graves that are non-productive. It is very pleasing to us if we, in reviewing our sales report, find a salesman who has produced $4,000 worth of business in one month, but we should be more interested in breaking down this report and analyz¬ing it for the potential operating revenue. If the salesman, in providing this $4,000 in sales, sold eight six-grave lots at $500 each, we have a minimum of potential operating revenue. On the other hand, if he had sold sixteen three-grave lots at $250 each, we have definitely sixteen good revenue producing accounts.

It is reasonable to assume that most of these graves will be used, and if you add to that the profit from the miscellaneous revenue on each interment, you are ahead on the sale of interment space. In addition to this, let us not lose sight of the radiation of two families instead of one. You are doubling your sales force. Surely satisfied owners are good for many additional sales. So my advice to you as cemetery operators is to operate with one more important thought in mind and ask yourselves this question: How many families can we permanently associate with our cemetery this month, for if you get a volume of families, the dollar volume will take care of itself. They will be dollars not just for today, but for many years to come, and then you will always have the needs for proper management.

I am not going to suggest the methods used in making the family ties. That is the business of the salesmen and the sales manager. My problem and your problem as operators is to see to it that there is operating income after the sales department has sold us out of our capital assets. Our own capital assets are the property we have to sell, with interment or entombment or columbarium space. Any additional income must be created, and no outsider is going to create it for you.

A short time ago a funeral director friend was telling me of a recent funeral he serviced. His remarks were something like this: "Brother, did I have a good job the other day; sold a copper and a good vault." I asked him how his¬ service went, were there many people in attendance, and did everything work out smoothly, but it appeared this was incidental to him, as the only part of the service he apparently was concerned with was the sale of the casket and the vault. I attempted to point out that he should be more concerned with his service to the family by having a well conducted funeral which would lead to additional calls through radiation, rather than the sale of merchandise only, but he wasn't interested in that fact, but only that his profit was large on the sale of his merchandise. After all, that paid his rent and allowed him to put some money in the bank. This is nothing more or less than living by a policy of making it today and letting tomorrow take care of itself.
How many in our business work at management as does this funeral director? Are you going to value the opportunity to advertise and merchandise those revenue producing items which come by thinking and operating beyond the initial sale of the property?

I want to touch on one more point that has been much debated in cemetery circles, and I assume that many of you are not in perfect accord with the methods of merchandising cemetery property, most certainly on a pre-construction basis, so let us compare pre-construction sales with other commodities. We will find it is no different than any of them providing you have established yourselves as a going institution, one that has gained the respect and confidence of the people of your community.

Most of us have driven cars we ordered from a reliable manufacturer through a salesman's story or descriptive literature. There wasn't the least doubt in our minds that the car when delivered would be well constructed and all that was claimed for it. Usually we were more pleased when we saw the actual car than with the pictures, yet the pictures induced us to make our selection and sign the order.

All of us buy before need and before the commodity is produced and think little of it, but when it comes to selling burial lots, many operators feel it is unethical and misleading to the purchaser and unsound for the cemetery. All of us who have had experience with sales are convinced in so many of these cases they turn out to be most unhappy and dissatisfied owners. Why? Because, first, the sales person does not have the time to spend with these families to properly sell them on the institution. They do not thoroughly understand the values and the many features of the property. It is logical to assume that at• that particular' time the purchaser would remember but one-tenth of what he was told.

In the pre-construction campaign, all of these advantages are clearly portrayed in the home by visual as well as a descriptive trip through the property by well trained consultants. Prior to and during the construction of the property, you will find their anticipation of seeing completed property prompts them to watch the progress as it is developed, and talk of it to their friends and neighbors. Compare this to the purchase of developed property whereby the purchaser pays the account, places the deed in a strong box, never to think about it again until the property must be used.

Yes, the pre-construction sales are very advantageous to you for radiation purposes, provided you do not overload your families by selling them more than they actually need for protection. However, you must first get yourselves out of the old graveyard category. You must manage your property in a manner worthy of recognition by the people of your community, as being a great asset to them in beauty, friendliness, personality and service.

Join with them in whatever community memorial activities are being promoted. Make them feel proud they have a modern cemetery institution in their community.

These operations can all be classified, then, I believe, under the heading, "Important Cemetery Management Considerations." I would like to point out first the need of important qualifications for a cemetery manager, and second, there are definite changes in funeral practice which have created a sales gap resulting in a loss of potential sales and loss of interest in property. Therefore, the problem resolves itself into this: Cemetery management must create policies to capture public interest, to acquire a volume of friends, to increase miscellaneous operating revenue by such methods as proper advertising, intelligent public relations program, and effective sales campaign. Remember, your only capital assets are the properties that you have to sell, interment, entombment and columbarium space, and I forcibly repeat that all other revenues are created entirely by your own acts.

Make your business live-make it one of action and of result; even as our worth is determined by the good deeds we do rather than by the fine emotions we feel, so the growth and success of our cemetery industry depends upon the accomplishment of well-manned, constructive and progressive activity.

Only action gives to life its strength as only moderation gives to it charm. Action may not always bring success, but I assure you there is no success without action. Thank you!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen; thank you, Mr. Donaldson. Before starting I would like to extend the warm personal greetings of Lou Minear to all of his many friends in the audience. Lou was unable to attend this meeting, one of the few that he has missed. We have a lot of construction under way at Fort Lincoln that requires his immediate attention and supervision, plus the fact that our sales manager, Gene Lee, and our general manager, Phil Firman, and myself were attending, so it was necessary for somebody to keep the home fires burning.

My appearance on the program this morning following Dr. Halberstadt is almost comparable to the proverbial ham sandwich served after a seven course meal. However, the only consolation I have is that it is one of the penalties of youth. In the convention meetings so far I have received a lot of valuable information. I listened to a speaker yesterday, a very dynamic speaker. One of the first things that popped into my mind this morning as I dragged myself out of bed was that talk on "Enthusiasm," so when I went into the bathroom, I grabbed hold of both sides of the wash basin, looked at my reflection, in the mirror. But the only thing I could think of was, Boy, I wish you hadn’t been so enthusiastic last night. (Laughter)

In the number of years I have attended conventions all over the country at the conclusion of every meeting I have made a firm and solemn resolution that next year things were going to be different. I was going to go to bed early, behave myself, attend all the meetings, and be on time. However, this morning as I reviewed the experiences of the last several days, I adopted an entirely new philosophy. If I live through this one I will do it again! I have enjoyed every minute of it.

The subject assigned, "A Salesman and Why," is very, very interesting to me. After receiving the assignment, I gave considerable reflection over my experience the past several years. If you will pardon my indulgence in personal references, with the assurance that on my part it is not an attempt to inflate my ego, I would like to make a point of "A Salesman and Why."

My entry in the cemetery industry in 1938 was a result of economic necessity. I had to find a way in which I could earn money, money to pay those bills that always seem to come in. That was the initial attraction. However, I feel cer¬tain that is not the thing that has kept me in the cemetery business. Not that I haven't made money, not that I haven't enjoyed the work! I am the product of many, many people. My first introduction to the business was with Bill Dowding, God bless him. I can never think back without thinking in terms of sincere gratitude for the aid and help that he gave me. Through the years I have been associated with many, many people, a number of whom are in the audience here today, Ches Sparks, Bill Boyd, Bill Mershon, and a great many other leaders in the cemetery field. They have taught me many, many things.
They have taught me many fine methods of presenting our product; they have taught me a lot of sales technique. The thing, however, that I think has been responsible for my success as a salesman in the cemetery industry has been something that goes a lot deeper than that. In looking beneath the cynical exterior of some of these gentlemen, I found something else, something that's been a great help to me. I found in them a deep-rooted conviction about the business they were in. I found that they really enjoyed the jobs they were doing. I found that they sincerely believed in the job they were doing. I have come to believe in the job that I am doing. I believe in it just as surely and just as sincerely as I believe in my religion.

When I sell a family a cemetery lot, I know I have rendered a definite and positive service. That to me means a great deal more than the money I receive for having made that sale. I think that through the years the thing that has helped more than anything else is just that, the belief in the business I am in. I think that anyone in this field who has been successful has certainly had that belief, sincerely and honestly.

Now, in the hiring and training of salesmen, I feel we have the responsibility of not only teaching them sales technique, but in teaching them the responsi¬bility that they have to the families they are going to see, the responsibility of serving that particular family. Through the years I imagine all of you have had star salesmen who for no reason at all sort of slacked off. There didn't seem to be any apparent reason for it. They were still using the sales tools you had given them, but yet their production sadly fell off. We have had that experience too, in many, many instances. One of the finest things that we have found to rejuvenate a salesman is to get him back to the basic fundamental principles of his job.

We have had salesmen who have gotten into slumps, and in all sincerity and in all honesty one of the finest things that we found to get them out of that slump was to make them handle an immediate need case, to make them service a family who had experienced a death, was at the cemetery to make arrangements. In practice, every case where we have taken a salesman and had him do that, his production has immediately gone back up to par or above par.

Why? Simply because he regained his faith in the job that he was doing. He was again convinced of the many fine things that he was doing for families in pre-need selling.

I haven't any theories to give you this morning. I haven't any jokes to tell, but I would like to pass on a few concrete things that we have used successfully, things that have helped to keep our sales force active. Through the years all of us have tried to acquire every sales tool that we could get our hands on to help our men do a better job, all the gimmicks that have come down the pike we have latched onto and tried to put them in the hands of our salesmen.

A number of years ago we got sold on the idea of tape recording machines, as a medium for training salesmen. After salesmen had been given the indoc¬trination the background of the business, and had been taught the sales story, we used the tape recorder to allow them to practice. They could play back the recording and we could make corrections. They could hear themselves give the presentation. However, the most difficult task in the world is to give a sales presentation to a machine or to a fellow salesman, a sales director or sales manager. It is far more difficult than giving it to a flesh and blood prospect. You can't seem to whip up the same enthusiasm that you can generate when you know a sale is in the offing.

We have used this machine with considerable success. However, there was still something lacking. It still didn't fill the needs that we felt it should. We stumbled across an idea a little over a year ago. Very few things are original, but borrowed from somebody else. We found a sales organization that was using tape recording machines with the salesmen right in the home and record¬ing sales presentations under actual selling conditions. That seemed like a very excellent idea. It seemed to be the answer we were seeking, a better way of training a salesman, to get him at his best when he was really pitching on the firing line.

Mistakes that came up then could be rectified. However, the machine we had weighed a hundred odd pounds and was too difficult to take in and out of the homes. We experimented and found a portable machine, this Eicor that we have on the platform, a machine that was a little over thirty pounds, a machine that after a little revamping could take a thirty-minute tape and record full two hours on it if necessary, an hour on one track and an hour on the back track, getting two full hours of presentation. The only thing we, lost in cutting it down was the fidelity or reproduction of music, which we weren’t interested in anyhow. Voices came through good.

For the past eight or nine months now, we have been using these machines. We have purchased six of them to date. We send a salesman out with a machine and have him record his presentation in the home. That is not as difficult as you might imagine. It is a simple and easy job to get the recorder in the home and get the family to consent to having that presentation recorded.

We experimented and finally have a plan which is working very effectively. We get into a home and after the small pleasantries are over we have sold ourselves to the family to the point where they are willing to listen to the pres¬entation we merely ask them if we can record the presentation. "Mr. and Mrs. Jones, the plan we would like to explain to you is very new. We would like to record your reaction to it so that the company can better judge whether or not to continue the plan. Would you mind if we recorded the presentation?"

We have never had a family not give their consent to it. We have now a library of sales presentations. What we were particularly interested in was getting the concrete answers to objections recorded under actual selling con¬ditions. The old objections that all of us have difficulty with, "I have no money," "I have a lot back home," "I am too young to think about that," and the various other things that they propose as an objection to purchasing cemetery property pre-need. We have built a library of answers to those objec¬tions. We posted prizes in order to encourage men to take the machines out and bring back the recordings.

When a new salesman comes in now after training, while he is preparing his maps, we can hook up a recording and let him listen to a sale successfully closed in the home, let him listen to an answer to a definite objection. The machine has many, many uses. When a salesman gets in a slump, he takes the machine out, records his presentation, brings it back, we can sit down and analyze the presentation. It is far more effective than having him give you the presentation. You can stop the machine at any point where he made a mistake without fear of having him lose completely the continuity of his presentation. It was difficult to makes notes while he was making the presentation, and it was difficult to remember later after the presentation was through, exactly what mistakes he had made. You often forgot the main points you wanted to correct him on.

However, with this you can stop the machine at any point that you want, correct his mistakes, show him a better way of answering or stating the particular phase of your story, and then continue on.

I brought with me several of these recordings. We have played them around in some of the rooms. 1 have one here this morning that I would like to play for you for a definite and positive reason. It is not an excellent presentation. That is the reason I want to play it for you! It is a presentation full of mistakes. It is a presentation we can tear apart. I checked with the electrician and he hooked up a gadget for me here that perhaps will let you hear this. This is a presentation by one of our salesmen, Leonard D. Kitlinski, who has been with us approximately four years, a salesman who sells from $3,500 to $5,000 a month, a consistent producer, not a top-flight salesman, not a star salesman by any means, but a steady, consistent hard-plugging producer.

I don't know whether this will be clear in the back. If it isn't I will have to forget it. There seems to be some difference in the time element between the microphone and the speaker. Let's see if we can pick up part of it. This is actually in the home. (Plugged in recording machine, but was not understandable.) He's gone through the story, created a desire, and is getting down to closing the sale, and you hear both sides of it-the husband and wife giving the objec¬tions and his attempt to answer those particular objections. Let's see if we can get it.

VOICES: Can't hear it.

MR. JACK ROBESON: I am sorry we can't play it for you. The presentation was actually made in the home. I think you would have found it interesting if you had been able to understand it. The point I wanted to bring out, if you had listened to it, was this-that when this presentation was brought back to the office we sat down with him and listened to it. We were able to point out the mistakes that he was making, mistakes that probably could not have been uncovered in just a presentation to me or Mr. Lee in the blank four walls of an office. After correcting those mistakes, the rate, or percentage of his closing ability raised tremendously.

We have a mandatory Daily Work Report. We have all of our salesmen turn in a report giving the number of homes that he canvasses each day, number of hours he spends in canvassing, the number of prospects that he has gotten that morning, and on the bottom half of it, the number of calls made that evening the actual name of the family and the address and the time he was there and remarks as to what happened, gave the presentation and didn't get the sale, etc.

In analyzing those work reports we found Kitlinski's biggest difficulty was his closing ability. As far as canvassing was concerned, he was doing an excellent job. He was making the desired number of calls and call-backs each day, he was consistently working, he was going back at night, he was getting into homes, and that he was giving a great number of presentations, but he wasn’t closing.
In listening to this presentation, we found out why and we corrected the mistakes he was making. Prior to making this recording, prior to a six-week period, his closing ability was roughly thirty-one percent. In other words, three out of ten presentations were closed; he gave ten presentations and only closed three deals. The last eight weeks of analyzing his work reports have shown that for the number of sales he has made and the presentations he has given, his closing ability has raised from thirty-one to seventy-two percent. He is closing now better than seven out of ten presentations. Certainly that is worth while.

If you can take a salesman who is a worker, who is doing the things that you prescribe, and you can pinpoint the mistakes that he is making and correct those mistakes and increase his earning ability, then certainly you are doing a job.

I sincerely and earnestly recommend to you the use of a recording machine. There are several well-known makes on the market. There are a number of wire recorders. Our experience with the wire recorders has been in that they are more temperamental than the tape recorder. The wire has a tendency to foul up and you ruin a lot of recordings. Second1y, they are expensive for this type of use. I think the average spool for an hour’s recording runs $4.50 to $5.00 in most communities. Buying in quantity reduces that slightly, but it still repre¬sents quite an investment. The tapes cost about $2.25 a piece. If you are buying them in quantity you can get them a little cheaper than that.

The machine, as I remember, cost $144. We got a purchase discount on it which brought it down to a fairly nominal cost. If the machine or the cost of the machine only resulted in correcting one salesman, the expenditure of that amount of money would certainly be worth while, because I know all of us have spent far more money than that on a lot of other things, trying to correct certain things that were happening, without the success that we have been able to get from the use of this recorder.

The recorder has a multitude of other uses. I have merely brought up one or two, but it has a great many advantages. I think that you will find the majority of your large sales organizations today, particularly in the insurance field, are using this medium to train their salesmen.

I think we have gone a step further in the use of the machine by actually taking it in the home and getting those recordings. It would be a definite advantage to have a library of such recordings so you are in a position to answer objections to any salesman, any time he has spare time to listen. Put him in a room, turn it on and leave him. He gets a renewed confidence in his own ability to overcome the specific objections that are given in the field. We found it extremely useful in the training of new men, but the biggest thing is the point I tried to make, in the recording of the presentations in the home for the individual salesman. When he hears the mistakes that he is making, it is a lot easier for him to correct it, particularly if you are there with advice. Those mistakes are not repeated too often.

Let me add a little something else to that. I have mentioned this one case. We have several others in the organization that we have been able to help through the use of this recorder. The increase of Kitlinski's ability to close was accomplished through the use of this machine in showing him his mistakes in mode of presentation, but the biggest help was the fact that prior to sending him out to make the recording, we had him handle an immediate need case. In addition to getting him back on the track of the fundamental sales story, we were able to do something a little more deeply, to strike him more deeply; we were able to renew his belief in the services he was rendering; we were able to get him back on the right track, to get him back to that belief in the job that he was doing.

Any of you can think back to immediate need cases that you have handled, and I don't believe any of you can reflect upon them without realizing that because of handling that immediate need case, it made you a better pre-need salesman because you could see very definitely the advantages of pre-need selling more clearly than at any other time. When you are with a widow, grief stricken, her eyes full of tears and you try to help her solve the financial dilemma she is in, you certainly realize the wisdom of pre-need selling; you certainly realize that somebody, somewhere along the line, should have done a better job of pre¬need selling that particular family.

That tragic occurrence or occurrences that happen each and every day in our own offices are the result of inefficient salesmen, because somewhere along the line some salesman had the opportunity to sell that family a lot pre-need, and he fell down on that particular job. He didn't accomplish the purpose of his mission. Perhaps one of the reasons why he didn't would be the fact that his belief wasn't as strong as it should be. It slipped off. He had gotten too much interested in the returns, his commissions, and he had forgotten his real function and his real job of serving.

Anybody who is completely sold finds it a much easier task to transfer those beliefs to families that he is talking to. I can't urge you too seriously to earnestly think a little bit about it. Think in terms of yourself, the reaction that sets in as you wait on immediate need families. Think in terms of a salesman who is in a slump at the present time. In analyzing his difficulties and get down to the rock bottom of it, I think you will find in most cases that it is the loss of belief in the job that he's doing, because his enthusiasm stems from the firm conviction that the family should have the protection he is striving to give them. He is able to make a more convincing presentation, and when he gets down to the close of it, he certainly is in a much better position to close the family because he believes sincerely and honestly the statements that he is making to them, and that wells from the heart. That is something that isn't easily faked. You can get by with it for a while, but to successfully continue to make presentations and close deals, you must have that belief.

We are running a little late. I could take a little more time and give you a further insight, but I urge you to consider it, because we firmly and sincerely believe it has been a definite aid in helping us to keep our salesmen producing.

In closing I would like to thank you for the help I received in the past from each and every member of the Association. It is a wonderful thing to have these meetings where we can get together, exchange ideas, and go back home with a renewed purpose and the intent of doing a better job in the coming year, a better job of training our salesmen, a better job of convincing the public. Thank you very kindly.

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

Philadelphians are quite proud of their tradition that it takes three generations to make a true Philadelphian, while one may become a New Yorker over night.

The same principle applies to old line Cemeteries. You cannot transform them into a Modern Cemetery by simply waving a wand and declaring that in the New Addition no upright monuments will be allowed. Edgar Guest, one of my fellow Detroiters, wrote quite a poem, entitled: "It takes a heap of living to make a house a home." In this poem he described the joys, the tribulations and heartaches that make our fireside a sacred, comforting place. It takes a lot of planning, a lot of inspiration, a lot of perspiration, a lot of capitalization to transform a City of the Dead into a Burial Estate designed for the living as well as for the dead.

Forest Hills Cemetery was established in the Northeast corner of Philadelphia 42 years ago. During its span of existence it has passed through the hands of many owners, individuals, corporations, syndicates and selling organizations. Each of the owners and each of the selling organizations had different ideas in the building and selling of cemetery property. Fortunately for the Forest Hills of today none of these ill ¬conceived ideas are irreparable. Fortunate too, are we in the fact that we have not inherited a tombstone thicket, for all during the years care and discretion has been exercised in the type and style of the monuments erected therein. Our greatest heritage is the wonderful, natural beauty of Forest Hills, for you can travel the country over, and nowhere will you find a burial ground with more beautiful rolling hills or wooded areas. That natural beauty, with the possibilities of enhancing it with manmade beauty, is the reason why I am now in Philadelphia. Nowhere have I seen greater possibilities for a sales engineer to work hand in hand with landscaping engineers to create a modern cemetery that will rank with the country's finest, when these improvements are carried out.

The subject assigned to me has been a difficult one to prepare. If I were speaking to you on a matter of sales theory, I could speak freely and earnestly. However, I must speak to you in the light of my actual experience, and relate the work that I performed day after day during the five months I have been engaged in this new endeavor. Naturally in such a short space of time, miracles cannot be wrought, and I am going to handle this talk as if it were addressed to each of you as an individual, and not to an audience of hundreds of cemetery experts gathered from all over the North American Continent. I am going to picture you as if you were individually seated at my desk in Philadelphia and that you and I, are swapping our common experiences in the operation of our sales departments and of our cemeteries. I have done this in the past with many of you here, and you and I have sat across our respective desks in many States in this country. When you and I talked to each other indi¬vidually, it did not sound like braggadocio, but from our conversation we each gathered points of information to help us in our future endeavors.

In the experiences I am to relate to you, you will find no startling innovations, no cure-all solutions to our many problems. During the past 10 years in which I have been engaged in this fascinating work of manu¬facturing and merchandising modern cemetery property, I have, come across many sales ideas. A lot of these ideas were very, very bad - a few of them were good. The only way in which I, have ever been able to separate the wheat from the chaff, was to take all of these ideas apart, piece by piece, to see whether or not they were feasible. This cannot be done by sitting behind a mahogany desk - it must be done in the field, face to face with the prospect or the lot owner, or, if you please, your Board of Directors ... In these 10 years, therefore, I learned which ideas have worked, and which should be discarded. In my present connection I have tried to use these ideas that clicked, not experimenting again with the ideas which had failed to produce results. So draw up your chair a little bit closer to my desk and light a fresh cigarette, while I proceed to go into my story.

Fifteen years ago a new Memorial Park area was opened at Forest Hills, that is to say, it was called the Memorial Park area. The restrictions of the cemetery forbade the erection of upright monuments in that area ¬also forbade the installation of bronze memorials in the same area, allowing only stone or granite memorials, of any size or description, just so they were installed flush with the ground. The first step I took was to have our Board of Directors amend the By-laws of the cemetery, so that bronze memorials, installed flush with the ground, would be permitted in any section of the cemetery - monumental, as well as non-monumental. Our new letter heads describe it as Forest Hills Cemetery and Memorial Park. In other words, we immediately brought to the attention of the public that we have a complete line of Cemetery lots. The Ford dealer is fortunate in the fact that he has a complete line of automobiles, appealing to all pocket-books and all tastes - the Lincoln, the Zephyr, the Mercury, and three models of Fords. So it is with us - if a man wants a $10,000.00 monumental burial estate, we can take care of him. We do not have to spend time in selling him on a new idea and losing the sale if we are unsuccessful in selling that new idea. We have property that appeals to the great middle class, and also to the low income class, although we do not have any single graves for sale. Our plans call for the completion of a separate entrance to the Memorial Park area, so that one may enter there direct from the Main Highway without driving through the Monumental Sections.

We do not have an unlimited amount of money at our disposal with which to make some very necessary rehabilitations and improvements, so my immediate job was to make those improvements, not only where they were most needed, but also where they would show up to the best effect to let our large family of lot owners know that new life had come to their dormant, sleeping cemetery. During the past 10 years there had been no sales force whatsoever at Forest Hills, and although the interment business continued on a good even keel, increasing lack of funds had been felt from year to year, and naturally many jobs had been allowed to remain undone through the need of money with which to carry out those necessary repairs.

The first Sunday after my arrival, which incidentally was Easter Sunday, the visitors to the cemetery were surprised to see a beautiful pair of white swans gliding gracefully over our lake. They not only stopped a long time to admire these swans, but they remarked to themselves and to me that something new was happening here. That one expenditure of $45.00 for this pair of swans brought an amazing touch of life to a place in which no life had existed before. Several stretches of road were repaired at once, and the lot owners, as well as the prospects could get a graphic idea of how all of the roads throughout the cemetery would look when our improvement program is completed. The purchase of a funeral chapel tent drew many immediate favorable comments from funeral parties, and from funeral Directors themselves. Lower cost in Cemetery maintenance was secured immediately through the purchase and use of a 75" Power Mower, for the cutting of the lawns in the Memorial Park area, instead of by the 30-inch mowers which had been used previously. Another innovation which appealed to our lot owners and prospects alike was the free flower bed, with a beautiful enamel sign containing the inscription "These flowers are free for use on graves."

The first time I set out by myself to drive to the cemetery I had one deuce of a job finding it. I did not want to have to stop to ask for directions, but I was forced to do so. At the cemetery I had difficulty in distinguishing where certain sections were located, even though I had the map of the grounds before me. It was not long before a beautiful gold leaf raised letter entrance sign was erected at Forest Hills. Small metal signs were placed on each side of our burial sections, these signs bearing the name of that particular section. Small arrow directional signs were placed at all important road intersections leading to our cemetery.

The cemetery administration building looked worse than a Country Store at Simkins Corner. It was dingy and shabby, inside and out. I had often heard of the miracle a few coats of paint could create, and I saw this happen before my very eyes. The interior of the office with this light paint, with its bright linoleum on the floors and the Venetian blinds on the windows, has become a place of which we are all proud instead of apologetic as heretofore. The shining whiteness of the exterior has brought our cemetery forcibly to the attention of the motorist who use the highway, and the railroad passengers of the New York line of the Reading Railway, which passes before our Administration Building door.

For a great many years, the only City office of the Cemetery was a small bookkeeping office in the center of town. I immediately moved our Executive office to a modern daylight, office building located 4 miles north of the City Hall, but 4, miles nearer to our cemetery. We are now located at a main transfer point of many trolley and bus lines, as well as the Broad Street Subway line. This makes it much easier for our lot owners to drop into the office personally to make their monthly payments. It makes it more accessible for our salesmen also, as m this location they have unlimited parking facilities on wide streets, and the office is closer to their fields of operations.

I have just mentioned here about our salesmen. That is one big job I had to do, and still have to do for that matter. Not having had a sales force here for ten years I had to start from scratch, building up sales material and getting sales pictures for our kits, which in itself was no easy thing to do, as the winter continued late in Philadelphia this year, and I had to wait until the trees began to have at least a sign of foliage upon them.

I did not wait until this sales material had been completed to start hiring salesmen. In fact, I ran an Ad for salesmen even before my new office had been redecorated completely. This first Ad brought in so many applicants, that I was forced to buy and install the salesroom furniture within 24 hours, as I had to start conducting a sales school immediately. Twenty men answered that advertisement in a City which I had been told by several that the cemetery business had been exploited to death, and that salesmen would run from the sight of a cemetery Ad. I had been told moreover, that it would be impossible to hire any new men if they were not given an advance or drawing account. That these two statements were fallacies is proven by the fact that out of the 20 men who answered this Cemetery Ad, 15 became salesmen for us. Not a one of these men has ever been given a cent in advances or, drawing accounts. Some of you may be interested in knowing just how this Ad read. In our City, the Philadelphia Inquirer insists that the nature of employment and manner of remuneration therefore must be specifically mentioned in the Ad. I quote for you this advertisement:

SALESMEN OVER 35:
GRAY HAIRS ARE AN ASSET HERE.

Analyze these advantages enjoyed exclusively by our new Sales Force!

(1) We furnish BONA-FIDE LEADS. No canvassing necessary.
(2) Prestige of 42 years continuous service to Philadelphians, thousands of owners.
(3) Superior quality and beauty.
(4) Prices today but a fraction of value. You will sell on rising market.
(5) Extensive improvement program just starting.
(6) Over one million Philadelphians do not own. They should buy NOW, before need arises.
(7) Experience not required. You will be given intelligent training and cooperation in 1940 cemetery merchandising.
(8) Unlimited earnings thru generous commissions and advancement possibilities for lifetime career.
(9) No dull seasons. No samples to carry. No credit turn-downs.
(10) Sales force just starting. Get in on ground floor.

Your appearance, personality, and character must be in keeping with the dignity of our proposition. Apply Monday only to:

FOREST HILLS CEMETERY
Beury Building
3701 N. Broad Street

I think the reason that it has been an easy matter for us to hire good men on a straight commission basis, is the fact that our proposition creates enthusiasm in their minds and in their efforts. It has always been said that “Anticipation is greater than realization” and we are fortunate that we are just at the start of our improvement program instead of having to sell a cemetery that is completely finished. Enthusiasm is always a vital factor in selling any commodity, and it is especially true of Cemetery Property, where you can draw such a splendid word picture of the beauty that is there and the beauty that is to come, the romance and sentiment of a cemetery that is designed for the living.

Here is a true story of what happened to one of our salesmen, in the first week of our sales force's existence: An 89 year old Aunt of his died and he was at a local funeral establishment waiting for the funeral serv¬ices to start. In his conversation with the funeral director he told him, in great detail, of his new connection at Forest Hills, and just what Forest Hills was going to do in the way of improvements. He evidently did a good job in selling this funeral director on Forest Hills. There were only ¬two cars besides the hearse and as the funeral procession got under way, our salesman noted the fact that it passed by the highway where it should have turned off, to go to the cemetery where the interment services were to be held. Instead, the procession continued right out to Forest Hills, and pulled up beside an open grave there which had been made ready for another interment service. It was then, and only .then, that the funeral director realized that his mind had been filled so full of Forest Hills, that he had driven there instead of to the other cemetery. It was fortunate for his reputation that the funeral party consisted only of the immediate family of the Forest Hills salesman.

On the books of the company are the names of over 5000 lot owners, representing over 4000 burials. During the period of years which had elapsed since these owners had purchased, many had moved away; in many cases the complete families had died out. During all those years I do not think they ever received a general mailing from the company on any subject whatsoever. Naturally, I wanted to acquaint them with the detailed plans which we were to carry out for their benefit, as well as to let them know about the new management. With this idea in mind, I engaged Homer Rodeheaver to come to Philadelphia to conduct a Lot Owners Meeting on May 25, in one of our large down town auditoriums. I sent a general mailing out to these 5000 names announcing the Homer Rodeheaver Meeting, and over half of these letters were returned to us as undeliverable. This mailing, however, was the means of our securing many new addresses for our records. I used the Post office plan, Form No. 3547, which applies to multi-mailing of 3rd class mail matter. The envelope which was mailed on 1½¢ postage bore this inscription: "Return postage guaranteed: Postmaster: If addressee has moved and new ad¬dress is known, notify sender on Form 3547, postage for which is guaranteed." By this method the Postmaster returned to us a post card containing the new address. On the 2500 or so letters which were re¬turned as undeliverable, we continued our checking further thru the funeral directors, asking them to advise the present address of survivors if it were known to them. In this way we received the correct address of many of these families. Unfortunately, we still have many names on our books which we cannot locate, and I am praying and hoping that some day. In the future, a new City Directory will be issued in Philadel¬phia. None has been issued in the last 5 years, and so far, no one has any definite idea if one will ever be issued again. We of course have used the telephone directory to trace the phone subscribers.

The Homer Rodeheaver Meeting attracted over 600 lot owners on a rainy Saturday evening which was the only date on which I could book Homer. It created genuine enthusiasm. Quite a few Funeral Directors were also present that evening, as they too had been sent an invitation for this meeting. The lot owners were told that night of our plans for improvements and rehabilitation, and they were also told that they were expected to help in the sale of lots, as the more lots that were sold would mean more improvements would be made. It was pointed out to them that three - parties would benefit from every lot that was sold to their friends and relatives:

First: The lot owners themselves would greatly benefit, as the value of their lots would increase according to the additional money spent in the cemetery with the additional beauty and desirability thus created.

Second: The cemetery would benefit as their own unsold property would greatly increase in value, due to these improvements.

Third: Their friends or relatives would benefit by an immediate purchase as they would be in position to buy at ground floor prices, as these prices would continue to advance, as the improvements proceeded from time to time.

Our salesmen are following up the families representing the 4000 burials at the Park by means of the Historical Record, with which most of you are familiar. On every one of these calls the salesman is supposed to conduct a miniature Homer Rodeheaver Meeting, pointing out the many improvements from which they will benefit as lot owners, and also calling to their attention the other parties who will benefit from additional sales to their friends and relatives. Such a method is followed in our contacts with visitors to the cemetery, and also to those who attend interment services. It is quite interesting to note the results obtained by the various types of salesmen in following up these Historical Records. Some of them become ideal census takers. They turn in a complete Historical Record of the deceased in flawless handwriting, with every question fully answered thereon. Some of them in listing the surviving relatives of the deceased are too timid or negligent to ask as to whether or not those surviving relatives own cemetery property themselves. Other salesmen by their sympathetic listening, by their enthusiastic presentation of our plans for beautification, are very successful in securing the wholehearted cooperation of our owners and their actual physical aid in helping them to sell property to the Uncle Johns and Brother Harrys listed by them on these records.

I will not go into great detail about the beautiful Memorial Day program we had at Forest Hills. It is interesting to state, however, that in spite of great difficulties, this program turned out to be a great success. It was the first of May before I had an opportunity to even think or make plans for such a service here. No such service had ever been held at Forest Hills. In fact, there was not even a flag staff of any description, I started contacting the various veterans’ Posts adjacent to our cemetery, and I found that for years each post had been going to certain specified cemeteries in their area to hold their Memorial Day services. Everywhere I went I was greeted with the information that it was too late for their posts to change any plans; therefore, after starting at the bottom I decided to continue at the top. I introduced myself to the District Commander of the American Legion of our District and received an invitation from him to attend the monthly meeting of the Commanders of the 23 posts of that district; which was held the first week in May. At that Meeting I told these Commanders my story briefly, that I would like to have a Memorial Flag Staff dedicated on Memorial Day, and while I realized that their Posts could not attend this dedicatory service, that I would at least like to have their colors represented by volunteer delegates from each Post.

The next week I presented a similar invitation at the Monthly District Meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The result was that our first Memorial Day service had a good turnout from the 23 posts of the Legion, and the 16 Posts of the V.F.W., with many of the Commanders them¬selves attending. They were so inspired and pleased by the beauty of the site where we erected the Memorial Flag Staff, that it was decided then and there that Forest Hills would be the official cemetery for the entire District Memorial Day Joint services in the future. All of the Metropolitan and Community Newspapers gave publicity to this service, the first time in many years that the name of Forest Hills had been mentioned by any Newspaper other than in the obituary columns.

Due to the late spring it took a long time for me to secure suitable films in color, of the beauties of the Cemetery, Late in May we began our Moving Picture Travelogue Lectures in the Churches and Lodges, and as the fall season now opens we are booked extensively for the showings. As I have spoken to you before from this platform on Movie Lectures, you know how sold I am on them as an aid to sales, so it will not be necessary to go into this phase of sales promotion here. If you are not familiar with these Moving Picture Lectures I suggest that after the meeting you pay Roy Hatten $5.00 for a copy of the 1937 year book containing this information.

We have not as yet installed our amplified music but expect to do so in the near future. I perhaps should not mention this fact here at this meeting, as I imagine after this talk I will be besieged by the musical exhibitors at this convention. I, however, do state definitely here that while we have not as yet decided on what musical installation we will make, that you can bet it will be thru one of our exhibitors. The Chapel Tent and the Power Lawn Mower, which I mentioned earlier in this talk, were bought from exhibitors at our previous conventions, and I make it a strict rule to favor our exhibitors wherever and whenever possible. Again, I will not go into detail as to how we will secure prospects through our Sacred Concerts. The 1938 year book covers this subject thoroughly. And again, you may get a copy of that book from Roy for another five dollar bill. Perhaps after all, Roy's offer of $15.00 for a complete set of year books will be your best bet.

After our mailing list had been brought to date, we found that there were over 1000 unmarked graves. Thru Bill Williams' cooperation we immediately got out a letter to these 1000 families, advising them that bronze memorials could be installed anywhere in the cemetery, and giving them a sales talk on the use of bronze. Our salesmen in their daily calls with the Historical Records have the privilege of selling Bronze Memorials for which they receive a commission of 10%. While our salesmen are not Memorial salesmen, it does give them an opportunity to pick up' a little expense money through this incidental selling. These families will be systematically followed up, also, by future letters. Quite a few profit¬able orders have already been received for Bronze Memorials, but we have not scratched the surface as yet. In my previous connection at Michigan Memorial Park, it was quite a simple matter to sell bronze memorials, as they either I had to install bronze or nothing at all. Here we are competing with every monument and memorial dealer in the City, and we have to overcome a lot of prejudice that has already been built up in our lot owners' minds. We find that the more bronze memorials we install the easier it is for us to sell additional ones, so I feel that the hardest part of this particular job is already over. I do not want to go on record as favoring the installation of bronze against that of granite. I do want to go on record, however, in saying that by selling bronze we receive a selling profit ourselves, and do not have to be content with only an installation charge. Figure for yourselves a potential average profit of $25.00 each on 1000 unmarked graves and you will see that that total amounts to $25,000.00 possible profit for the cemetery. Multiply that by 400 burials a year and that will give you an additional future profit of $10,000.00 per year.

In this short space of time allotted to me, I could give you only a few of the highlights instituted since last spring. Inasmuch as there is not in this whole audience a possibility of selling one lot in Forest Hills, I am not going to attempt to tell you about the future plans we have in mind for our own particular cemetery. I do hope that if any of you pass through Philadelphia, or any way near Philadelphia, on your way home from this convention, or at any time in the future, that you will drop in my office, and we will then continue the discussion which you and I have had this morning. I know that you will be impressed with the beauty of Forest Hills when I show it to you then. I do not advise you to have any of your salesmen stop by to see it, as they might do what I did last March - move to Philadelphia and become a living part of the beauty that is Forest Hills.

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 194

The greatest difficulty I have had in preparing this paper was in con¬densing into a mere thirty minutes an amount of material on a subject that could well occupy a couple of hours. Hence, you will be compelled to listen only to the highlights of my experiences and observations which must largely be confined to the first person, or to our own institution, as my entire time has been devoted to White Chapel, excepting visits to other cemeteries, and contacts with other cemetery operators.

With a little thought you will agree, I think, that there are two kinds of laws - made laws and discovered laws. Made laws complicate, as we all know, but natural, or discovered laws, simplify. One is the result of political action, the other the result of scientific research. A manmade law must be administered; a discovered law takes care of itself. I like to think of the modern cemetery as a "discovered" law since it fulfills a desire for the untinselled simplicity that is natural in all things close to the human heart.

It fuses intimately with the thought of the great philosopher, Goethe, so appropriately quoted by our good friend, Dr. Halberstadt, on different occasions. Goethe said: "Nothing is so inevitable as an idea whose time has come". The non-monument cemetery has fully proved by its public acceptance during this first decade that it was an idea whose time had come - that it was a "discovered" law.

A few years ago Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy was so impressed with the change in cemeteries that she wrote the following: "Today we clothe our thoughts of death with flowers laid upon the bier, and in our cemeteries with amaranth blossoms, evergreen leaves, fragrant recesses, cool grottoes, smiling fountains, and white monuments. The dismal gray stones of church-yards have crumbled into decay, as our ideas of life have grown more spiritual; and in place of ‘bat and owl on the bending stone, are wreathes of immortelles and white fingers pointing upward’. Thus it is that our ideas of divinity form our models of humanity". In the last decade, as our ideas of divinity have enlarged, an even more beautiful, cemetery has emerged - the garden-plan cemetery. It is the material ex¬pression of man's belief in the life eternal-it is Progress.

Here are expressions from other well-known personages: "I find the idea which impresses the people the most is 'equality' in the cemetery", writes one. "And they like the serene sense of peace which permeates the grounds, instilling the thought of life, not the finality of death. The poor man likes to know that he is receiving as much attention and service as the rich man, and that his bronze tablet is just as nice as his neighbor's".

Another observes, "In every instance people have expressed genuine approval of this modern, practical and beautiful way of burial. The non-¬monument cemetery is an expression of more spiritual thinking in - the world".

And another says, "When one enters the cemetery to commune with a departed loved one his heart is filled with sorrow and grief. When he leaves to return home that sorrow and grief is replaced with contentment and satisfaction".

"The garden-plan cemetery", suggests another, "has in its design and beauty, in its absence of the gruesome and depressing, attracted many beauty-seeking visitors who would otherwise never have entered the gates of a cemetery. These visits do much toward dispelling the dread of ceme¬tery ownership before death and undoubtedly has stimulated the sale of cemetery property in advance of need."

The Superintendent of White Chapel, J. Howard Wendorph, now President of the Cremation Association of America, and previous to ten years ago, the Superintendent of an old line cemetery, says: "The first decade of the non-monument cemetery completes what might be termed a 'probationary period', as it was common gossip in monument cemetery circles that the non-monument cemetery could not survive without the conventional tombstone to excite sentiment, and in its departure from grotesque and ornate monuments and densely wooded areas and winding drives would in itself lead to total failure. On the contrary, sentiment and beauty sprang anew, and thoughtfully designed non-monument burial parks, with spacious lawns and formal plantings, and the simplicity and ever present atmosphere of equality in these developments, has attracted increasing thousands of people who are being comforted by these attrac¬tive restful properties.

The garden-plan cemetery has played its part well in raising the standards of cemetery service throughout this country, for it has created a competitive spirit between cemeteries that heretofore had not been of any consequence. The non-monument cemeteries, in keeping with their beau¬tifully planned settings, inaugurated many new ideas in funeral servicing and cemetery management. Older cemeteries soon realized that they must keep pace with the new development as it was much in evidence that these new methods were meeting with great favor by the public, and out of necessity they have in the last decade made similar improvements.

A prominent Funeral Director says: "If you were ever in the family car of a funeral procession as it entered the gates of a monument cemetery, you would feel the quietness and coldness that comes over the family as they see the stones that signify death. You would also sense the feeling the family must have when friends see the small monument on their family lot, and next to it, a large pretentious one. In many cemeteries, if the family does not pay a yearly fee, the lot grows up to high grass and weeds, and from all appearances the deceased has been forgotten.

Now, let us proceed in the family car entering the gates of the non-¬monument cemetery. As soon as you enter, you see the beautiful lawns, flower beds, and sunken gardens showing nothing but beauty and a place of rest - nothing that signifies death and coldness. All of the graves are uniform, the bronze memorials are uniform, and when they leave the cemetery they have a feeling of satisfaction and comfort.

From a dose friend of mine on the West coast, who has travelled much: "I feel very strongly that the non-monument or Park-plan ceme¬tery has contributed culturally to the growth of our nation. Certainly it has brought comfort at times of grief to thousands. There is in the heart of every person, whether he believes in God or not, a deep hunger for assurance that there is a hereafter; that this world does not end it all. A cemetery or a non-monument park, therefore, which suggests the begin¬ning rather than the end, brings comfort to those who inter their loved ones therein. That I consider to be the outstanding difference between the new and the old. The old type cemetery with monuments of varying sizes suggests just what it is, a place in which to bury the dead; thus, creating a depressing feeling. It is always difficult to care for this type of ceme¬tery, and due to the sorrow felt by the surviving loved ones their grief and unhappiness are enhanced. Is this true of the modern non-monument cemetery? No! It is not true because we find a natural park, with broad sweeping lawns in which the interment spaces are marked only with bronze tablets set flush with the ground. Gone forever are the symbols of death in the form of unsightly monuments of varying sizes, rising in the air to mar the beauty of the landscaping; gone too are the class distinc¬tions which these monuments afford.

"I contend that the world has been made a better place in which to live because of the surcease from grief which the surroundings of the non¬-monument cemeteries have given to surviving loved ones. They symbolize Life, not death. In the big cities this step has meant real progress for it has taken away unsightly stone yards and in their place have come beautiful parks of great value and of great civic pride. To these parks through¬out the nation come millions of people each year from all over the-world to drink in the beauties of the artistry of the stained glass windows con¬tained in beautiful mausoleums, the great collections of statuary and the historic collections of various kinds. Many of the modern cemeteries have come to be parks where lovers come to stroll, and where little children come with their teachers to learn, and where artists come with their brushes to paint; in short, they are, today, real assets to American civiliza¬tion. Is this true of the American cemetery of a comparatively few years ago? No! It is certainly true of many of the advanced cemeteries of today. Of this progress, we are indeed proud."

I have given you these reactions of a variety of people because they truthfully express a cross-section of opinions of the garden-plan cemetery. They are important for they show how high upon a pedestal the people of this country have placed the non-monument cemetery in the first decade of its existence. In our community it is next to impossible to find one person to whom the well kept modern cemetery does not make an imme¬diate appeal.

I wish now to describe some interesting personal experiences of the first decade of the non-monument cemetery.

You will appreciate that with no safe precedent to follow the pioneer¬ing of the memorial park was most interesting. Salesmen were hard to get, and with the primitive sales technique of that day it was so difficult for the average salesman to find people who would listen to him, due to their apathy toward buying cemetery property, that salesman after sales¬man laid down his kit and took up other means of making a livelihood. People simply wouldn't listen to him, and there was nothing for him to do but quit. In retrospect it appears now that we financed our development easily, but as I reluctantly recall the numerous difficulties and uncer¬tainties of those days, and of the past decade during which time artificial restraints on business of all kinds have prevented real recovery, the job was anything out a pathway strewn with roses.

One of our most serious problems was to establish prestige as a back¬ground for our salesmen, for we never had a prepossessing array of names' on our Board of Directors. To meet this resistance, after many discus¬sions, our Guarantee Certificate came into being, with which most of you are familiar. But that did not meet the situation, and it then became necessary to further strengthen our secondary trenches. As a consequence, but only after innumerable conferences between the attorneys for both parties lasting several months, our Trust Company connection was made, an arrangement with which most of you are also familiar and I understand, in many cases are using. With our foundation thus strengthened and through constant and conscientious attention to our sales and develop¬ment programs, business picked up, slowly at first but steadily, neverthe¬less, until the improvements were finally completed, and every section in the Park disposed of for cash or placed on contract. At the end we were compelled to return some fifty applications and checks because we had no sections left to sell.

To attempt to further describe details of our experiences of the early days would be covering ground with which you have now all become familiar, so I will briefly enumerate the methods we've employed in reach¬ing the stage in our career which is shown on the interment and beautifi¬cation map upon the wall, and the accompanying photos of our improve¬ments.

All cemetery operators hopefully anticipate the day when their "imme¬diate" business will "carry" their cemetery - and we of White Chapel admit of being no exception to that ambition. With that thought upper¬most in mind it didn't take us long to decide upon a definite policy, based on the psychology that no one in purchasing cemetery space purchases a piece of ground; they purchase beauty and service. From that embryo of reasoning, our thoughts and actions have been guided to this day. Every piece of literature issued, every type of publicity sanctioned, the Polar Bear arrangement, our annual tulip display, our participation in the Detroit Flower Show, our service calls after interments, our "Special" single graves, our dealings with the Funeral Directors, our educating orig¬inal owners to sell their own sections, our house organ Chapel Chimes, loaning our equipment to civic bodies on special days, providing indoor Chapel services in bad weather without extra charge, providing annual or special flower service to our owners, sympathetic and understanding treat¬ment of bereaved families at the time of funerals and throughout the years, the utmost care in maintaining our grounds, subsidizing bus service to White Chapel, and many incidental means of favorably placing and keeping our institution before the public and our owners, has been moti¬vated by the firm belief that in supplying beauty and service we will build safely and permanently.

Our present status, as I will explain from memos, there being no room in this paper, is a result of religiously following that policy during the past decade. We subscribe wholeheartedly to the "service above self" theory, and believe indelibly in the Rotary principle that "He Profits Most Who Serves Best". I am one who is proud of my calling, and the humble part I have been fortunate enough to play in the development of the non-¬monument cemetery during the past decade.

It is said that in the last ten years over 120,000 patents have cleared the Patent Office in Washington and out of that number have come only five or six patents that have made national progress insofar as giving employment is concerned. During that same period, it must be remembered, that more than six hundred non-monument cemeteries have been built in the United States in cities from as little as 5,000 population up to the largest cities.

A decade ago only a handful of people were connected with this great business, and it is safe to say that today between twenty-five and thirty thousand make their living in various capacities connected with the non-¬monument cemetery alone. And the families of these people mean 80,000 to 100,000 more. Surely the garden-plan cemetery was God inspired, for the employment, and the comfort and consolation which it has already given to thousands could not have been the work of man alone. It has made it possible for us to be long remembered for our efforts in develop¬ing these beauty spots, and to have the kindly thoughts of our com¬munity for years to come. So, should not each and every one of us be justly proud of our calling?

But let me mention here a word of caution. The war situation, coupled with the uncertainty which it has created in the public mind, has caused more procrastination than usual. Very few people these days know how to plan for the future because the conditions and trends which we face today lack precedence in American economic history. I am afraid, too, that the trend in government toward providing sustenance for the unem¬ployed and the aged has brought a marked decrease in thrift and fore¬sight. Too many people these days are thinking in terms of spending what they make for enjoyment of the moment on the assumption that it is foolish to worry about tomorrow. This has a vital and important bearing on making Before-Need cemetery provision, for our job is selling security and peace of mind for the .future. It is definitely our job, however, to overcome these obstacles and although the task is becoming increasingly difficult it is gratifying to see by progress being made in cemeteries, throughout the country that we are succeeding.

My subject would not be covered if I failed to mention that fly-by¬-night promoters have occasionally had their day in our industry during the past decade just as in politics, sports, banking, the law, the pulpit and every other human activity. But in this business they don't last long, and, indeed, many have already been deprived of their freedom.

We must take cognizance also that most of the world is at war and that our country may become involved. We must face a preparedness situation, in any event, and prepare to carry accounts of those who may enlist or be drafted for training, for, as you know, a moratorium will be declared on all contractual installment payments during the period a man is in the service. The task before us all is an important one, requir¬ing the utmost of understanding and cooperation of which we are all capable. But whatever demands may be made upon our cemetery industry, caused by conscription or voluntary enlistment, or by losses while at war, will I am sure be met intelligently and aggressively. The non-monument men proved a lusty group of patriots at the code meetings, winning the unjust fight decisively; and now in larger numbers and well associationed we should meet any emergency with credit and honor to our industry.

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 1940

Before going into a discussion of the matter assigned to me, it probably would be well to give you a picture of the property which I represent.

Ours is a privately owned Cemetery, organized for profit, if any. We were organized in 1926, started business in 1927 and have only nine stockholders, all residents of Muncie. Our property was developed before any sales or burials were made and we combine park plan and monuments. We are situated in Muncie, Indiana; a town of 50,000, that you will remember as "Middletown." I might say in reference to this "Middletown matter," that we are all beginning to consider our¬selves first class Guinea Pigs. We have been analyzed, surveyed, ques¬tioned and photographed to the extent that we now automatically adopt a pose when we see a stranger walk into the office.

Back to our Property---We are one of the few cemeteries started in the 20's that was "under-capitalized"---of course none of you gentlemen have ever had any experience with that condition. Having started in 1927, we might even be called a depression baby, as most of our life has been under the cloud of depression or recession.

Our first development was 19 acres, to which we have since added 16 more; in addition to this we own 70 acres of reserve ground. We have a Community Mausoleum, completed and in use that is the largest building of its kind in Indiana. Its capacity is 888 crypts. Contrary to the feelings of most Cemetery operators, we like the mausoleum and consider it a definite asset, financially and otherwise.

Our competition is a municipally owned cemetery, well managed and enjoying a splendid reputation. This cemetery has been in operation some 75 years and has approximately 35,000 burials. Elm Ridge, our cemetery, is at the present time getting approximately 25 to 30% of the burial business of our City. In addition to this, we are, of course, very active in the solicitation of pre-need sales for both the ground and mausoleum.

What I have been trying to show you, is that ours is a rather small property, operating in a middle-sized town. This fact must, of course, be borne in mind, in considering some of the things that I am going to say. The matter of prime importance with us, has always been expense, being as I said, a small property and under-capitalized. Features we have devel¬oped and special services we have conducted have had to be those that were reasonable in expense and the kind we like best are those that are paid for by someone else. Don't laugh at that remark, it is entirely possible to, do just that thing.

The subject assigned to me: “'Special Services that Help Sales," is one that has been given a great deal of attention and one which I approach with a great deal of humility. If I am able to throw out a single idea that some of you can use, I will feel amply repaid. If I don't, then you'll just have to charge the time up to resting and let it go at that. I am not going to talk much about sales, as I feel that they will come all right, if we take care of the Service and Services.

Let us first analyze what it is that we have to sell; what is our mer¬chandise-our bill of goods? I believe that it can be summed up in just three words and those three words are: "Beauty, Permanence and Service”. Really now - isn't that our Merchandise? Of the three, I have decided, that the last one, "Service," is the most important. "WHY" because without it the other two are meaningless. Therefore, we are discussing that thing which we do, that is the most vital to our SALES that does the most to cultivate our market - "SERVICES and SERVICE”.

Now I want to ask another question. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE FACTOR IN THE CEMETERY BUSINESS? What is it that makes these wonderful properties possible and incidentally, makes your job and mine? Isn't it SENTIMENT? Of course it is. Without it, you and I wouldn't be in the business as there would be no need for us. It is the thing that makes the wheels go around as far as we are concerned. Sometimes I wonder if we bear this fact in mind enough. Do we, in every thing we do or plan for our Cemetery, first ask ourselves what bearing it has on the sentiment involved?

We have now arrived at this point---first, that our service and services are one of the most important factors in cultivating our market, and second, that the background or foundation of our business is the sentiment of our lot owners and the public in general. We come now to the consideration of this all important feature of our operations, bearing in mind always the sentiment and feelings of those for whom we plan and render these services.

The word Service has been used in a good many ways, but in the cemetery business, I like to divide it into two classes. The first of these is the special or planned service, such as we have at Decoration Day, Easter, Mother’s Day and some Sunday afternoons. Into this category I also place the usual routine of burial. The second class, I designate, for want of a better word, as INCIDENTAL services. I will discuss some of my experiences with the former first,-that is the one we usually think about when we use the word service, but I am convinced that the latter is the one that makes the real lasting impression with those people to whom we are obligated, our lot-owners and the public.

One of the most sentimental times of the year is the Christmas Season. The average individual's thoughts are centered around his home and his loved ones. If that family circle has been broken, there is, at Christmas, a particular feeling because of this break. Isn't it strange that few cemeteries have done much to satisfy this feeling that the average person has at Christmas? It is true that some properties have developed expen¬sive pageants and tableaus, but to most of us this has been denied because of the cost. Let me tell you how we have met this need.

Four years ago I was driving with my family one evening during Christmas time; we were out for the purpose of seeing the many attrac¬tive lighting displays about the homes of our City. The thought came to me, "Why not do something of that sort at the cemetery? As those lights in the yard are an expression of sentiment, why shouldn't lot owners and the public appreciate the same thing at the Cemetery, especially those lot owners whose loved ones are buried or entombed there? The following year I made a start on this and I was amazed at the response. Let me describe, briefly, the set-up I have developed over the last three years.

Our Mausoleum is in the center of our development, and as you can see from this plat, the burial sections are laid out on either side. The building is back about 600 feet from the highway. I made a start on our Christmas lighting program by constructing a four foot illuminated star. If you have a handy man in your organization, he can build it for you, or if not an electrician can do it at small cost. This star was made of ply¬wood and has about forty outlets in it, in which we used 25 watt white lights. In the center was placed an old automobile light reflector with a 150 watt white light. This star was put on a tripod 15 feet above the top of the building. By painting the legs of the tripod black, we created the effect of a hanging star above the building. We designed and had made two candles shaped frames which were placed in recesses on each side of the face of the building. These frames were covered with flame colored parchment and gave the effect of two large burning candles. In the mid¬dle of each burial plot on both sides of the building, we have a large evergreen bed. Wires were laid from the building out to these beds. Ordinary rubber covered wire may be used for this even though it is laid across the road, as driving over it doesn't hurt it. In each of these beds, stringers of from 50 to 75 - 25 watt blue lights were draped over the evergreens and a large white light placed at the top. Did you ever see evergreens lighted this way that were covered with snow? It’s a wonderful sight.

We have a very beautiful World War Memorial, about which I will have more to say later. We place a floodlight on this Memorial with an amber filter. Our florist made an artificial wreath, about four feet in diameter into which was woven four strands of outside Christmas lights. This wreath was placed on an easel in front of the Statue.

Then I borrowed an idea that I saw at the World's Fair last year. You will recall, no doubt, riding down the avenue leading to the Lagoon of Nations. This avenue was lined with trees and at the base of each tree there was a green light shining up through the branches. Of course, the lights there were very expensive, but I found a very good substitute. The General Electric now has on the market, a spot light bulb of 150 watt intensity. These bulbs are their own reflectors and they cost $1.70 each. A special swivel holder for mounting on a board costs .95¢, and a color filter costs another .95¢. Thus, for $3.60, you have a colored 150 watt spot light, made of Pyrex glass that is impervious to the weather. I placed a few of these, having green filters, around under trees, directed upward, and you have no idea the effect created, even though the branches were bare.

That is the set up as I had it last year. Of course, each property would have to work out its own lay-out. You can make it just as expensive as you want, or you can do it gradually as I did. After the season is over, you take it down and put it away - next year it is all there, waiting only to be installed - your own workmen put it up and your cost is but the current used.

I doubt if I have $100.00 invested in my entire display and the cost of current is negligible compared to the results obtained. I usually put our display up on the 15th of December and burn it every night through January 1st, from dark until 10:30 or 11 pm. We had a total of 5,000 watts burning last year so you could figure the operating cost from your own rate. No personal attention is required as the entire circuit is turned off and on by a time clock (not expensive).

There is one thing that I want to caution you about. If you do anything along this line, DO NOT FAIL to put some of it out in your burial sec¬tions. Don’t center around your entrance or buildings. It is the burial section that the individual is interested in and that is where his sentiment is. If you do any lighting at all, BE SURE to put some in your burial sections.

Now, as to the reaction and results - I know of nothing that we have ever done that has caused as much favorable comment, regardless of cost. The newspapers have inspected our display every year and give us a very fine news story. Hundreds of people drive out to see it each year. How do we know that? We have had many people call or come into the office, to tell us how much they appreciated the fact that we had remembered their loved ones at Christmas time. Last year, after having this display for three previous years, the night before Christmas, for some unknown reason, the clock that operates the circuit failed to work and the lights were not on all evening. The next morning you would have thought that some one had stolen all the monuments in the cemetery. "What's the matter with your Christmas Lights?" "Aren't you going to have them this year?" "We drove out specially to see them." We were covered up with calls.

These Christmas lights are one of those services that you can render that ties in directly with the feelings of your customers and prospects. It gets your property a lot of attention at a time that the cemetery is usually relegated to the background and it earns the lasting gratitude of your lot owners AND DOESN'T COST MUCH.

Most of you have used Church organizations and like groups for Sunday or special programs at your Cemetery. Have you ever thought of using the BOY SCOUTS? Here's one of the finest groups in the world and one that deserves every encouragement - especially in the times that we are going through just now. They lend themselves admirably to a Memorial Day program and if you have the success with it that we have had, you will probably do as we have - make it an annual affair.

About two and a half years ago, I attended a large Community meeting in Muncie and as is always the case, at Community events; the Boy Scouts were on hand doing what I call the DIRTY WORK. They were directing traffic running errands and doing all those little things that men don't want to do and delegate to the youngsters. Being continually on the lookout for something that would appeal and be a little different for Decoration Day, the thought occurred to me, "Why not give those Scouts some real responsibility? Instead of having them do the dirty work, why not let them plan and execute the entire program?" The more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. After all, what could be more fitting than the "MEN OF TOMORROW HONORING THE MEN OF YESTERDAY?"

When the time came to consider the Decoration Day program, I went down to see the local Scout Executive and put my idea up to him. He looked at me in amazement for a minute and then said, - "Do you mean to say that you want the Boy Scouts to have the entire responsibility of your program and not just do the work? I replied that is exactly what I want. I want to announce to the public that the Delaware County Council of Boy Scouts have planned and are executing the Memorial Day program at Elm Ridge". "Well, that certainly is something different. You bet we will do it. What kind of a program do you want? That is your problem", was my reply.

The final outcome was this - the Boy Scouts planned the complete program, one of their number acted as Master of Ceremonies, three others put on a tableau in connection with the history of our Country, another group gave musical numbers, and an Eagle Scout gave the Address of the Day. (A darn good speech too.) After this talk, a squad of Scouts decorated all veterans' graves and then all Scouts placed a flower at the base of the War Memorial, lining up so that the firing squad, furnished by the American Legion, would perform between them and the Memorial. This entire program lasted about 50 minutes.

What is the effect of this type of program? I can best tell you by repeating what I overheard a man say who was standing near me. His friend asked him why he was there, rather than fishing - it being a Holi¬day. His reply "My boy is a Boy Scout and he has been talking about this program for a month. These folks turned the whole affair over to the Scouts and he wouldn't have missed it for anything. Believe me; it is certainly fine that these people were thoughtful enough of these boys to let them have the responsibility and glory, as well as the work." There is your story. You will never see a prouder bunch of boys, and men, too, for that matter. It was their program - they had planned it and they were putting it on. Don't forget that practically every boy there was brought by his parents and that, in addition, all of the adult leaders and Council members were there, too. Not a small part of the value of this program is that you are helping to instill patriotism into those boys that will be the men of tomorrow.

Here is another Service that appealed to the sentiment of the Boys, their parents, lot owners and the public in general. Try it some time. You can guide and vary the program as to speakers and other details, but let the Boys handle it.'

What did the service cost? Very little, other than the incidental ex¬penses that we would have had anyhow. Our part was simply to have the property ready, arrangements made, and to mail out announcements of the Service. This mailing, a copy of which I have here, was sent, to all lot owners, prospects, and, of course, to the families of all the Scouts in Delaware County. The program was publicized, throughout, as the pro¬gram of the Delaware County Council of Boy Scouts at Elm Ridge Ceme¬tery. Because of the tie-up, the newspapers were more than kind.

You might be interested in the make-up of this announcement. It makes a convenient method of contacting your owners and is not expen¬sive. Approximately 2½¢ mailed by pre-cancelled stamp.

I spoke a while ago of a World War Memorial, which we have. Here is another case of a service to our Community which has in turn been of considerable benefit to us. The story of this Memorial is a splendid exam¬ple of what can happen if one is awake and grasps an opportunity when it comes his way. This particular case may never occur again, but it does prove the point that you should be on your toes in your own Community.

In order to properly give you the facts, it will be necessary for me to give you a little history. In 1924, Elizabeth Sears, a resident of Muncie, died. In 1922, she had lost her only son, a World War Veteran. After her death, her will disclosed the fact that she had left all of her very modest estate in trust to the City Park Board, to be used for the erection of a Memorial to all World War Veterans. The amount was so small that it was not sufficient to do the job at that time and it was placed in a savings account to accumulate. In 1937, the then Mayor of Muncie, inter¬ested himself in this matter and the outcome was the purchase of a statue, "The Spirit of the American Doughboy", executed by E. M. Viquesny of Spencer, Indiana. After the statue had been bought, a question arose as to where it would be, placed and how. An argument followed and the result was that it was put in storage. Now, bear in mind, please, that we have in our City, a city cemetery, which has its own World War Veterans' sec¬tion and further, that this statue and the remaining money was in the possession of the City Park Board.

A year ago last July, this matter again came up, and as sometimes hap¬pens, an agreement still could not be reached as to, where it should be placed. At this point your speaker came into the picture. I had known all about this matter, of course, since I am a veteran, and when it came up again, I wondered if this might not be an opportunity for Elm Ridge to perform a service for the Veterans of our Community and at the same time, secure for itself, a very creditable War Memorial. Accord¬ingly, I attended a meeting of the City Park Board and Veterans which had been called for the express purpose of discussing this matter. After considerable talk that had produced nothing, I arose and suggested that, inasmuch, as Elm Ridge Cemetery had no War Memorial I thought that it would be a very appropriate plate for it. I proposed to furnish the ground required, and to underwrite any deficit incurred in giving it a real setting. I had previously made a complete lay-out of my proposal and I described it to them just as we would erect it. Of course, I had had some conversation with members of the Committee before the meeting (you know how that goes). My proposal seemed to be a happy solution to their problem. The outcome was that a Committee, composed of two veterans and a member of the Park Board was appointed, with instruc¬tions to secure a location for this statue. They came to our property and I sold them the idea of the location I had. Their proposal was taken back to the Veterans' organizations and the City Park Board and was accepted. Elm Ridge then formally accepted the Statue and the residue of the fund and gave them a contract, guaranteeing the erection to the satisfaction of the Committee.

We really gave them a setting for their Memorial, too. I say, with all due pride, that it is the finest in Eastern Indiana. It cost us some money, yes, but not nearly as much as if we had had to buy the whole thing. The statue alone cost $800.00, and there was $381.00 left in the fund. We put the Doughboy on a five foot tapered base, landscaped a 60 foot square, planted it and included a 45 foot bronzed flag staff.

Even if we had paid the entire bill, the tie-up we had from the pub¬licity standpoint would have been worth the price. The officers of the Cemetery were in the background all the way through. All plans and announcements came from the Veterans and the Park Board but of course, every mention of the affair included the Cemetery and what we were doing for them. This scrap book will show that in the space of four weeks, there were 18 separate news stories and one editorial about this statue, its location and the generous cooperation Elm Ridge was giving. Pictures, drawings and stories were on the front page of the Sunday edition for three straight weeks. That is a lot of publicity in anybody's league and it's the kind that counts as it is from the other fellow about you. None of this publicity was paid for it wasn't even requested. The newspapers asked for it and were glad to get it.

Announcements of the Dedicatory Services were sent to all veterans in the County and to all Auxiliaries as well as all the prominent folks. Of course, it went to all our lot owners and prospects. The day of the serv¬ice, every veterans' organization was there enmasse. The Mayor of our City gave a speech of welcome and thanks to us, a flag was presented to us by the Daughters of the Revolution and two Congressmen were the speakers, one of them the national Commander of the V.F.W; this again, all without expense to us, the cost of the speakers being borne by the Veterans. There were some 4,000 people at these services, all of whom went home with Elm Ridge uppermost in their minds.

Of course, this type of thing doesn't happen often, but it does be¬hoove us to keep our eyes open. You never know when something of this kind might break. In this connection, as well as for the good of your property, I have found that it always pays to keep on the good side of the powers that be.

The final result of this Service to our Community is that we have a very beautiful World War Memorial, which we wanted and would prob¬ably have erected at some time anyhow, for about one-third of what it would have cost us and along with it we have had publicity that we couldn't have bought at any price. The Veterans are grateful to us and we have the thanks of the City Fathers. We have again cultivated our market.

We come now to a discussion of that other type of Service that I have called Incidental Service, and to my mind it is the more important of the two. It is bound up completely with that sentiment which we admit is the basis of our business. To be effective, it must be just what the word indicates - Incidental and spontaneous - if it isn't, it loses its value. It is the service that humanizes your operation.

What do you do for your Lot owners? I know your answer - You will tell me that you have developed a very beautiful property; you sell them fine lots at a reasonable price; you give them a very impressive burial service; and you keep the Cemetery in good condition. BUT I ASK AGAIN, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR THE LOT OWNERS THEMSELVES? Coming back to sentiment again - what do you do for your lot owners that is going to put a warm spot in their heart for you, and through you, your property? Those lot owners of yours are the best boosters you have if they are sold, not on the property especially but YOU, PERSONALLY, and by you, I mean, of course, your organization. The best way to have them sold and keep them that way is to put your relations on a personal basis -- be human.

I can best make myself clear, by giving you an example from my own limited experience. Several years ago, I sold a lot to an old man by the name of Licher who had lost his son in a very tragic accident. He was a charming old man and it was a pleasure to serve him. Some time after the burial he had erected a small monument. Not a particularly attractive one, but it was a nice stone, and, of course, he thought it perfect. I was on the grounds one day with a camera, and happened to make an exposure that included Mr. Licher's monument. When it was developed, I found that this stone was well shown. Having no particular use for the print, I put it in the mail to Mr. Licher, with a note, telling him that he could have it. That mail was probably delivered about 10:00 o'clock the next morning. By 11:00 of the same morning, Mr. Licher was in my office. He asked me, with tears in his eyes if he could have two more prints if he paid for them. It seems that he was a Catholic and had two daughters in the Church, who might never be home again. He wanted to send each of them one of those prints, so that they might see where their brother had been buried. Needless to say, he got his two prints. That old man, down through the years, until he died last year, was one of the best friends Elm Ridge and Jim Watkins could have. Never did I see him, but that he mentioned the pictures and always with a tear in his eye. There was an incidental service that cost probably 20¢, but I couldn't have bought the regard he had for us, because of it for any price.

Did you ever gather up the empty flower baskets after a funeral, put them in your car and drop them off at the home of some poor old lady that has lost her husband? Try it some time and see what happens, I'll promise you, you will be repaid.

Another example - Three months ago we entombed an old Belgian glass worker in our Mausoleum. Our crypt salesman has a hobby of tending a flower garden and has some very beautiful flowers. A couple of weeks, ago, he had picked some blooms and stopped at the building on the way in. He picked up a vase, put a few flowers in it and set it in front of Mr. Andre's crypt. The next day, Mrs. Andre was out to the building, and of course, saw these flowers. The old lady talks very broken English - when she tried to tell us her feelings - she had to revert to her native tongue. We didn't understand her - we didn't have to - we could see her face.

Do you instruct your workmen to ask if they may be of service to lot owners? Did you ever stop your car, get out, and carry an urn or water can for someone on the grounds. If you see someone come into your mausoleum to decorate a crypt - do you sit there and let them do it or do you get a ladder for them and help them?

That's what I mean by Incidental Service. Little things, yes, but how big they loom up in the minds of your friends. No set program - no set rules - but, just out of the goodness of your heart do those little human acts that will set you and your property apart as a place they will remem¬ber. Are these things appreciated, you ask. My answer is YES. Here again, we are back to sentiment. There is a hundred times more senti¬ment in a little service that appears to be spontaneous and unstudied than in all the set services that you can ever render. What do you do - you make the lot owner feel that you are interested further than just a sale ¬you are interested in his well being as a human - you want to add to his comfort. Of course, you will find some that take these services for granted, but those that appreciate your consideration will far outnumber those that don't.

One more example - I have an old lady in mind, whose daughter is entombed in our building. She has no car and it is difficult for her to get to the Cemetery. She has never asked me to take her out, but I stop by every once in a while, to see if she would like to ride out with me. But you say that is time wasted? You wouldn't if you could see her.

The reaction of some of you to this idea may be that you don't have time or that it would cost you too much money. I say to you that YOU CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO DO IT. If you put your operation on a cold mercenary basis of taking them to the Cemetery, selling them a lot, making a burial and forgetting them, you are missing the finest opportunity in the world, not only to build your property, but also to build yourself. And another thing - don't delegate these services entirely to your subordinates. Do a few of them yourself - no matter how busy you are. Let your lot owners know that you are a human being just as they are, and that you are interested in them beyond just the sale. The satisfaction you will get out of this type of service will more than repay you for the time it takes.

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 1940

Gentlemen, the title of "Profits Through Publicity" and the subject itself is really so broad that you might say it would be more or less correct to feel that every branch of the cemetery business comes more or less under publicity.

Never having had a publicity department connected with my property, I will touch upon and explain briefly several of the different branches of my business, the activities of which could be more or less classified under publicity, inviting any of you to interrupt me at any time to ask questions about anything you wish.

The generally accepted form of publicity or what we all call publicity, that is the mortuary notices, news articles with reference to prominent people who have died, the dedication of flag poles, fountains, public memorials and so forth and so forth as well as the use of sign boards, radio, paid newspaper advertising, both black and white and rotogravure, and the use of hand-out pieces of literature have produced results of course, but these results have been of a rather intangible value and so extremely hard to measure that I will not attempt to go into that in detail.

We have in the past used direct-by-mail canvass with more or less favorable results but it seems that the public is only susceptible to this type of publicity at irregular Intervals and the results of even this type of publicity are somewhat hard to measure.

My experience however has been that there are a few types of what might be called publicity, the value of which can be more or less accurately measured from a profitable standpoint and of course all of us already know that "volume of sales" is the answer between profit and loss, providing that volume can be created without too much expense.

Now all of this, as I see it, boils itself down to one basic principal, that basic principal is personal contact. This personal contact may be had in quite a number of variations, some of which I will explain but the basis of any successful campaign in this business I believe is fundamen¬tally personal contact. Now, that personal contact of course can be more effective if it is assisted by such things as a good piece of literature, fine improvements in your cemetery, large Endowment Funds well regulated, moving picture lectures, historical record contacts, prizes for prospective purchasers to visit the grounds, recommendations or introductory cards introducing representatives to prospective lot buyers, Easter Morning services, Memorial Day services and so forth and so forth.

After all of the outlined above activities and publicity has been used along with many other things I have forgotten to mention, just how much business walks in your front door wanting to buy a cemetery lot-not much-in fact, we would all starve to death if we did not go out and beat the bushes and follow up by personal contact. Recently one of my salesmen said that he was the third man to canvass a certain territory and he got more business out of it than the other two combined. He thought it was strange but I did not think so-that is the natural result of per¬sonal contact publicity. The first man through that territory only picked up a very few prospects but started the people to thinking-the next man through picked up a few more but refreshed the minds of those people to the fact that they should own their cemetery lot and by the time the third man came through that territory, it had been called to their attention and they had given it serious thought, making them cemetery conscious. That is one type of publicity seldom recognized as such but certainly one that pays dividends.

The ones who make these personal contacts of course must be trained in the particular type of contact they are to make or they must be par¬ticularly gifted in some particular line of personality so that the all impor¬tant fundamental of selling, will be immediately evident, that fundamental being the ability to inspire confidence on short acquaintance.

Now I ask you, can any representative, associate or employee of a cemetery organization inspire confidence unless he is confident, knows his business and is thoroughly sold on it himself; therefore I say to you, the point of beginning is to sell every member of your own organization first. If you see you cannot sell them, invite them to get other employment. The different types of personal contact which produce the best profits and best results are not always the methods of operation that the salesmen like the best. By this, I remind you as managers and sales managers that in hiring salesmen many potential salesmen would not even go to work for you if you told them immediately they must canvass but if after a period of months each salesman turns in a report showing where each sale originated and that report develops that about 70% of all sales originate from canvassing, then the salesmen sell themselves on canvassing as being the best method to produce the most results.

The historical record which has been explained to this Association creates good will among the lot owners and produces the names of friends, relatives and business associates at a time when they are cem¬etery conscious and therefore it produces steadily a volume of business that can be measured in dollars and cents.

One other medium of publicity has recently been developed and the ideas I am using have principally been copied from you gentlemen listening to me, so I will not go into detail at this point on the program in connection with the colored moving picture lecture system, however I have brought with me my colored moving pictures and my charts and before this convention is over, I will show those pictures and give my lecture which I use before church sponsored groups and I will give this just for the benefit of those few who may wish to hear it. It will not be a regular part on this program.

This lecture system however which we have now used for just about three months is a form of publicity which can be used in two or three different ways and the value of each one of these methods can be meas¬ured in dollar volume of business. In fact, the second month we used this lecture system, the month of July, it produced a very satisfactory volume of business which could be traced direct to the lectures themselves. This lecture system which is based on a very nice entertainment in our own chapel in the center of our cemetery property gives the sales¬man an opportunity to bring out their prospects at a definite time and in most cases where these prospects come to these lectures a sale is made immediately following.

Now getting back to selling the salesman which is more or less indirect publicity. I do not believe that a sales organization can have too much system and from my observation the system most generally used is to pat the representative on the back, wish him well and hope that he will make a sale. This will produce only modest results, if any. Certainly the training of sales people is essential and then after they are trained they must be advised with at regular intervals-in fact their entire day must be more or less laid out for them-they must be furnished with sales kits and literature of course but from time to time the sales manager must sit down with each one individually and refresh their memory on things they already know but have not been using. Recently in one of our sales meetings I asked each representative to take a piece of paper, write a personal inventory of their own methods, ability, how much time they were putting in on new contacts and at what time of day and so forth and to complete these personal inventories by criticizing their own methods. The results are fine. Of course I pretty well knew what the criticism of each man should be anyway and each man knew it himself but in writing it down and then sitting down with me for a half hour or an hour and going over their entire program and their prospects schedule for the coming 60 days, "it had the same effect that a school boy who misspelled a word and is required to write it on the board fifty times-he just does not misspell it again and the salesman who has been contacting 3 or 4 new contacts a day on the average begins to set aside 3 or 4 hours a day for new contacts and systematically make 25 or 30 new contacts a day. Several of my men who had apparently worked them¬selves into a rut immediately began to become enthusiastic, their mental attitude was changed, they began to produce and again I say to you that the first and most important publicity is the foundation work in your own organization.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Does anyone have any questions now? I would like to ask Mr. Eubank if he would describe two things in the form of publicity with respect to his perpetual care fund. One is billboards and the other is advertisements in a general church paper showing the growth of his fund from nothing up to the present amount.

PRESIDENT EUBANK: There is a chart of that growth which will appear in the lecture tomorrow morning, starting out with nothing and growing to over a quarter million dollars, dates taken two or three years apart and the amount of money in the endowment fund as of different dates. That explains that part.

We used lighted signboards scattered all over the country. We didn't get many results from them. We didn't get any-results that we could trace, so I just quit all of those and contracted for one lighted signboard on our grounds. We happen to be located on the main highway between Houston and Galveston and we are right in town. The main traffic to the Bay goes right through our property. We are on both sides of the road. We built a fifty-foot signboard lighted with Neon, and every four months we changed the color scheme on that signboard. The same mes¬sage from an advertising standpoint is always on the board and the one thing that is featured is the amount of dollars in the perpetual care trust fund endowment, perpetual care and endowment funds of so much money-that is in dollars and figures. That is the one big thing. Below that "Ask your banker." And the date is put on there and the amount of money in the endowment fund as of that date.

We actually traced $2,000 in sales the first 90 days that came in our front door from that signboard. Does that answer your question?

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Then about the church paper.

PRESIDENT EUBANK: The church paper is a list of dates, the amount of money in the trust fund as of each of these dates, starting out with small type and gradually building up, just like the insurance figures do.

MR. C. E. BRYAN (Pasadena, CA): I would like to ask a question. I notice that it is getting to be quite a fad to advertise your perpetual care fund. Now I have analyzed that a little bit in our territory because we have one concern "Forest Lawn," which makes quite a show of it, and it has actually been my experience that has been bad advertising.

Now here are the results: There isn't a man in this room that can tell how much money ought to be put aside for perpetual care fund, and we use it actually against the cemetery. We say to them that the law of our state compels you to put up 25 cents a foot for a grave, which we can show absolutely isn’t enough. It requires us to put up $15.00 for a crypt that is more than four times as much in proportion as 25 cents for the grave.

Now, the only thing I am making the point of is that if you can simply say you have a perpetual care fund and anyone who is interested in it can be given the full information, but to tell the public about the perpetual care, you have raised the question that is an obstacle to your sale.

PRESIDENT EUBANK: We have found it just the opposite. Every banker in town knows about the trust fund and we advertise the amount of money in it. We don't talk about how much a square foot just about the amount of money, just saying "Ask your banker."

MR. GALL (Cleveland): Over how long a period did it take you to develop the trust fund you have today?

PRESIDENT EUBANK: Eighteen years. We have about $276,000 or $277,000.

MR. GALL: $278,000 is some trust fund!

MR. YELLAND: We put aside 10 percent.

PRESIDENT EUBANK: Ours is a good deal in excess of the require¬ments of the law, but the percentage basis I think is wrong. It ought to be based on so much per square foot. Ours is created that way and is irrevocable. If it doesn’t comply with the law, we will put up whatever does.

MR. COWAN: I should like to ask, does the amount you put in your perpetual care fund which you advertise, represent the actual amount or the value of the securities in which the money has been invested.

PRESIDENT EUBANK: That represents the actual amount that has been put in. At this time we have it in one railroad bond that is under par. Practically all the rest is in government and municipal bonds, and cash. Any bonuses or premiums are taken out of income.

MR. SPARKS (Philadelphia): Did you find those city maps you put out were good publicity?

PRESIDENT EUBANK: Excellent. We put out 35,000 and we had to reach another medium because so many of the people of the town had those.

MR. S. WHEELER (San Antonio, Texas): I would like to ask if, after all, the perpetual care that you give your cemetery isn't what you base your sales on. If it isn't the perpetual care you are giving, what have you to give over the hone-care cemetery and isn't it good business to advertise it? There are some cemeteries today that say they have a perpetual care fund. It is not an irrevocable fund and it is not a trust fund. It is managed and controlled by the cemetery owners or boards, and after all, outside of the perpetual care fund, what have we to offer?

PRESIDENT EUBANK: I think a perpetual care fund is one of the biggest selling assets in the cemetery. That is the way I have always looked at it. I think any perpetual trust fund should be an irrevocable trust.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Mr. Shea of Houston voiced a question to Mr. McBride, which seems to me is very important, and I am going to precede it for just a moment. How many here have chapels in their cemetery, any kind of chapel? (Several) Let me see the hands of those that have 60 percent of their services in the chapel. (Two) How many 50 percent? (None) How many 40 percent? (None) How many 30 percent? (None) How many 20 percent? (None) How many 10 percent? (Five) This question of Mr. Shea's to Mr. McBride is rather pertinent. We find in some places the funeral directors resent the use of the cemetery chapels and Mr. McBride must have developed something to reach that percentage and I wish he would tell us what it is.

MR. McBRIDE: Mr. Shea, we don't attempt to hold or try to get the people to hold the entire service in the chapel. We don't want to take anything away from the undertaker. They have their service at the funeral home, as usual. The people call at the funeral home. The service that I talk about as being 60 percent held in the chapel is that service that is normally held at the grave. The percentage of the services held in our chapel of the entire service, I wouldn't be able to tell you. It is probably insignificant.

MR. SHEA: But the main services are held at the undertaker's?

MR. McBRIDE: The services are held as usual at the funeral home and the normal service that would be held at the grave is the service I refer to as being held in our chapel.

MR. HOEFGEN: Do you sell him the idea that that is more comfortable than at the grave?

MR. MCBRIDE: I do. Our superintendent is a very sympathetic man and kindly man to meet, and just the type of person for that particular occasion, and our success, if it has been a success, and I think it has, due to the fact the people like it, is almost entirely due to him. We had some objections first from the undertakers, they not understanding that we were not trying to take anything away from them. They also felt that it required them to handle the casket twice, but when we got over the idea that we were not attempting to take anything away from them in the form of usurping any part of their service and also the fact that we take the casket from the chapel to the grave, and that they are through once it is delivered in the chapel by themselves, their responsibility ceases, we have overcome to a great extent that objection, and that is the part of the service we hold at the grave normally. Sixty percent of it is now held in our chapel rather than at the grave.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Do you find a drift of the families toward having a complete service?

MR. McBRIDE: No, I would say not.

MR. HOEFGEN: You are fortunate, Earl, in being able to contact your lot owner and client, which most cemeteries don't have the opportunity of doing?

MR. McBRIDE: Almost entirely we invariably insist, unless it is on special occasions, that we interview and make the entire arrangements that are to be conducted at the cemetery with the individual.

MR. HOEFGEN: Most cemeteries don't have that opportunity.

MR. HOWARD T. OTT (Milwaukee): I was wondering what means of conveyance you use to transfer the body from the chapel to the grave. You said you dismiss the hearse.

MR. McBRIDE: Ordinarily that has been conducted on one of these little rubber-tired buggies. We are just now considering the purchase of a proper vehicle for that. Our cemetery is not so large and our chapel is located almost in the center of the cemetery, so they don't have more than about 1,000 feet in the long direction and 400 or 500 feet in the shorter directions from any place. That is a great advantage.

MR. OTT: In some places, particularly in Milwaukee, they have rather objected to the idea of the chapel. It necessitates handling of the casket twice.

MR. McBRIDE: We have overcome that.

MR. OTT: The idea surprises me that you will get an undertaker to depart without completing his service, to leave the body with you, an unlicensed individual, as far as the handling is concerned. I had one occasion where an undertaker in Milwaukee became very much ve